Jeremiah

Book 24        Jeremiah

24:001:001 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that

           were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

24:001:002 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the

           son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his

           reign.

24:001:003 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king

           of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the

           son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of

           Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

24:001:004 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

24:001:005 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou

           camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained

           thee a prophet unto the nations.

24:001:006 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a

           child.

24:001:007 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou

           shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I

           command thee thou shalt speak.

24:001:008 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver

           thee, saith the LORD.

24:001:009 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And

           the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy

           mouth.

24:001:010 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the

           kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and

           to throw down, to build, and to plant.

24:001:011 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah,

           what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

24:001:012 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will

           hasten my word to perform it.

24:001:013 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,

           What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the

           face thereof is toward the north.

24:001:014 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall

           break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

24:001:015 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the

           north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set

           every one his throne at the entering of the gates of

           Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and

           against all the cities of Judah.

24:001:016 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their

           wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto

           other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

24:001:017 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto

           them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces,

           lest I confound thee before them.

24:001:018 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an

           iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against

           the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the

           priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

24:001:019 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail

           against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver

           thee.

24:002:001 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24:002:002 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the

           LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of

           thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness,

           in a land that was not sown.

24:002:003 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his

           increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come

           upon them, saith the LORD.

24:002:004 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the

           families of the house of Israel:

24:002:005 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in

           me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after

           vanity, and are become vain?

24:002:006 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of

           the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through

           a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and

           of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed

           through, and where no man dwelt?

24:002:007 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit

           thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye

           defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

24:002:008 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle

           the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me,

           and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things

           that do not profit.

24:002:009 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with

           your children's children will I plead.

24:002:010 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto

           Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a

           thing.

24:002:011 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but

           my people have changed their glory for that which doth not

           profit.

24:002:012 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid,

           be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

24:002:013 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me

           the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,

           broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

24:002:014 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he

           spoiled?

24:002:015 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his

           land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

24:002:016 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown

           of thy head.

24:002:017 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast

           forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?

24:002:018 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the

           waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of

           Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

24:002:019 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings

           shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil

           thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God,

           and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

24:002:020 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands;

           and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high

           hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the

           harlot.

24:002:021 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how

           then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange

           vine unto me?

24:002:022 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap,

           yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

24:002:023 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after

           Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done:

           thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

24:002:024 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind

           at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all

           they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month

           they shall find her.

24:002:025 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from

           thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have

           loved strangers, and after them will I go.

24:002:026 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of

           Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their

           priests, and their prophets.

24:002:027 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou

           hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto

           me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they

           will say, Arise, and save us.

24:002:028 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them

           arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for

           according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

24:002:029 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed

           against me, saith the LORD.

24:002:030 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no

           correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a

           destroying lion.

24:002:031 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a

           wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my

           people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?

24:002:032 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my

           people have forgotten me days without number.

24:002:033 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou

           also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

24:002:034 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor

           innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all

           these.

24:002:035 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall

           turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou

           sayest, I have not sinned.

24:002:036 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also

           shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

24:002:037 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine

           head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou

           shalt not prosper in them.

24:003:001 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and

           become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall

           not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the

           harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the

           LORD.

24:003:002 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou

           hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them,

           as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the

           land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

24:003:003 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath

           been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou

           refusedst to be ashamed.

24:003:004 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art

           the guide of my youth?

24:003:005 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the

           end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou

           couldest.

24:003:006 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king,

           Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is

           gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree,

           and there hath played the harlot.

24:003:007 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto

           me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw

           it.

24:003:008 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel

           committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of

           divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went

           and played the harlot also.

24:003:009 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom,

           that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones

           and with stocks.

24:003:010 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not

           turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the

           LORD.

24:003:011 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath

           justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

24:003:012 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return,

           thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause

           mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the

           LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

24:003:013 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed

           against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the

           strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my

           voice, saith the LORD.

24:003:014 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married

           unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a

           family, and I will bring you to Zion:

24:003:015 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which

           shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

24:003:016 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased

           in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no

           more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it

           come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall

           they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

24:003:017 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD;

           and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of

           the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after

           the imagination of their evil heart.

24:003:018 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of

           Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the

           north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto

           your fathers.

24:003:019 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give

           thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of

           nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt

           not turn away from me.

24:003:020 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so

           have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith

           the LORD.

24:003:021 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and

           supplications of the children of Israel: for they have

           perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their

           God.

24:003:022 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your

           backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD

           our God.

24:003:023 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from

           the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the

           salvation of Israel.

24:003:024 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our

           youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their

           daughters.

24:003:025 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for

           we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers,

           from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the

           voice of the LORD our God.

24:004:001 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me:

           and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight,

           then shalt thou not remove.

24:004:002 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment,

           and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves

           in him, and in him shall they glory.

24:004:003 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,

           Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

24:004:004 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins

           of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:

           lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can

           quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

24:004:005 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow

           ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say,

           Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

24:004:006 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will

           bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

24:004:007 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the

           Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to

           make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste,

           without an inhabitant.

24:004:008 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the

           fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

24:004:009 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that

           the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the

           princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets

           shall wonder.

24:004:010 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived

           this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace;

           whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

24:004:011 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem,

           A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the

           daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

24:004:012 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now

           also will I give sentence against them.

24:004:013 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be

           as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto

           us! for we are spoiled.

24:004:014 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou

           mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within

           thee?

24:004:015 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from

           mount Ephraim.

24:004:016 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against

           Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out

           their voice against the cities of Judah.

24:004:017 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about;

           because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

24:004:018 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee;

           this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it

           reacheth unto thine heart.

24:004:019 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart

           maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou

           hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of

           war.

24:004:020 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is

           spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a

           moment.

24:004:021 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the

           trumpet?

24:004:022 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are

           sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are

           wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

24:004:023 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void;

           and the heavens, and they had no light.

24:004:024 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the

           hills moved lightly.

24:004:025 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the

           heavens were fled.

24:004:026 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and

           all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the

           LORD, and by his fierce anger.

24:004:027 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate;

           yet will I not make a full end.

24:004:028 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be

           black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will

           not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

24:004:029 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and

           bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the

           rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell

           therein.

24:004:030 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou

           clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with

           ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting,

           in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise

           thee, they will seek thy life.

24:004:031 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the

           anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the

           voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that

           spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is

           wearied because of murderers.

24:005:001 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see

           now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can

           find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that

           seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

24:005:002 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear

           falsely.

24:005:003 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken

           them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but

           they have refused to receive correction: they have made their

           faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

24:005:004 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for

           they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their

           God.

24:005:005 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them;

           for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of

           their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and

           burst the bonds.

24:005:006 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf

           of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over

           their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in

           pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their

           backslidings are increased.

24:005:007 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken

           me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to

           the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled

           themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.

24:005:008 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed

           after his neighbour's wife.

24:005:009 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall

           not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

24:005:010 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end:

           take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's.

24:005:011 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very

           treacherously against me, saith the LORD.

24:005:012 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither

           shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor

           famine:

24:005:013 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in

           them: thus shall it be done unto them.

24:005:014 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak

           this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and

           this people wood, and it shall devour them.

24:005:015 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of

           Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an

           ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not,

           neither understandest what they say.

24:005:016 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

24:005:017 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy

           sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy

           flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy

           fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein

           thou trustedst, with the sword.

24:005:018 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a

           full end with you.

24:005:019 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth

           the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou

           answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange

           gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that

           is not your's.

24:005:020 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah,

           saying,

24:005:021 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding;

           which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

24:005:022 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my

           presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea

           by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the

           waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail;

           though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

24:005:023 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they

           are revolted and gone.

24:005:024 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our

           God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his

           season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the

           harvest.

24:005:025 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins

           have withholden good things from you.

24:005:026 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he

           that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

24:005:027 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of

           deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

24:005:028 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds

           of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the

           fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do

           they not judge.

24:005:029 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not

           my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

24:005:030 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

24:005:031 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by

           their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will

           ye do in the end thereof?

24:006:001 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of

           the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set

           up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of

           the north, and great destruction.

24:006:002 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate

           woman.

24:006:003 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they

           shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall

           feed every one in his place.

24:006:004 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon.

           Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the

           evening are stretched out.

24:006:005 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

24:006:006 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and

           cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be

           visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.

24:006:007 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her

           wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me

           continually is grief and wounds.

24:006:008 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from

           thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

24:006:009 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the

           remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a

           grapegatherer into the baskets.

24:006:010 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?

           behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken:

           behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they

           have no delight in it.

24:006:011 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with

           holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and

           upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband

           with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full

           of days.

24:006:012 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their

           fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon

           the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.

24:006:013 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them

           every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even

           unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

24:006:014 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people

           slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

24:006:015 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay,

           they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:

           therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time

           that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

24:006:016 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask

           for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,

           and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will

           not walk therein.

24:006:017 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of

           the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

24:006:018 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is

           among them.

24:006:019 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people,

           even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not

           hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

24:006:020 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the

           sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not

           acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

24:006:021 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay

           stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the

           sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his

           friend shall perish.

24:006:022 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north

           country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of

           the earth.

24:006:023 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have

           no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon

           horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter

           of Zion.

24:006:024 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish

           hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

24:006:025 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the

           sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

24:006:026 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow

           thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most

           bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon

           us.

24:006:027 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people,

           that thou mayest know and try their way.

24:006:028 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they

           are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

24:006:029 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the

           founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.

24:006:030 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath

           rejected them.

24:007:001 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

24:007:002 Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this

           word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah,

           that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

24:007:003 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your

           ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this

           place.

24:007:004 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD,

           The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.

24:007:005 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye

           throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

24:007:006 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,

           and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after

           other gods to your hurt:

24:007:007 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that

           I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

24:007:008 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

24:007:009 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely,

           and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye

           know not;

24:007:010 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by

           my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these

           abominations?

24:007:011 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of

           robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the

           LORD.

24:007:012 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set

           my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the

           wickedness of my people Israel.

24:007:013 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD,

           and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye

           heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

24:007:014 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my

           name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you

           and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

24:007:015 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all

           your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

24:007:016 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry

           nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I

           will not hear thee.

24:007:017 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the

           streets of Jerusalem?

24:007:018 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and

           the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of

           heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that

           they may provoke me to anger.

24:007:019 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not

           provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

24:007:020 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my

           fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon

           beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of

           the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

24:007:021 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your

           burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

24:007:022 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the

           day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning

           burnt offerings or sacrifices:

24:007:023 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I

           will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in

           all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well

           unto you.

24:007:024 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in

           the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and

           went backward, and not forward.

24:007:025 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of

           Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants

           the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

24:007:026 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but

           hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

24:007:027 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they

           will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but

           they will not answer thee.

24:007:028 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth

           not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction:

           truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

24:007:029 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up

           a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and

           forsaken the generation of his wrath.

24:007:030 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith

           the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which

           is called by my name, to pollute it.

24:007:031 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 commanded them not, neither

           came it into my heart.

24:007:032 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it

           shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of

           Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in

           Tophet, till there be no place.

24:007:033 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of

           the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall

           fray them away.

24:007:034 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from

           the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of

           gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the

           bride: for the land shall be desolate.

24:008:001 At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out 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 inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:

24:008:002 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and

           all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they

           have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they

           have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be

           gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face

           of the earth.

24:008:003 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue

           of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all

           the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of

           hosts.

24:008:004 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall

           they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

24:008:005 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a

           perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to

           return.

24:008:006 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man

           repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?

           every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the

           battle.

24:008:007 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and

           the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of

           their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.

24:008:008 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with

           us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes

           is in vain.

24:008:009 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo,

           they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in

           them?

24:008:010 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their

           fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the

           least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from

           the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

24:008:011 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people

           slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

24:008:012 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay,

           they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:

           therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of

           their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

24:008:013 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no

           grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf

           shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass

           away from them.

24:008:014 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter

           into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the

           LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of

           gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

24:008:015 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of

           health, and behold trouble!

24:008:016 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land

           trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for

           they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in

           it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

24:008:017 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you,

           which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the

           LORD.

24:008:018 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint

           in me.

24:008:019 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people

           because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD

           in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to

           anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

24:008:020 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not

           saved.

24:008:021 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am

           black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

24:008:022 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why

           then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

24:009:001 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of

           tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the

           daughter of my people!

24:009:002 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring

           men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they

           be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

24:009:003 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they

           are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed

           from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.

24:009:004 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in

           any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and

           every neighbour will walk with slanders.

24:009:005 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not

           speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies,

           and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

24:009:006 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit

           they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

24:009:007 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt

           them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my

           people?

24:009:008 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one

           speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in

           heart he layeth his wait.

24:009:009 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall

           not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

24:009:010 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and

           for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because

           they are burned up, so that none can pass through them;

           neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of

           the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

24:009:011 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I

           will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

24:009:012 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he

           to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare

           it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a

           wilderness, that none passeth through?

24:009:013 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I

           set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked

           therein;

24:009:014 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and

           after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

24:009:015 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;

           Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and

           give them water of gall to drink.

24:009:016 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they

           nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after

           them, till I have consumed them.

24:009:017 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the

           mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning

           women, that they may come:

24:009:018 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that

           our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out

           with waters.

24:009:019 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we

           spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken

           the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.

24:009:020 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear

           receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters

           wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.

24:009:021 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our

           palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young

           men from the streets.

24:009:022 Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall

           fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the

           harvestman, and none shall gather them.

24:009:023 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

           neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the

           rich man glory in his riches:

24:009:024 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth

           and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise

           lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for

           in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

24:009:025 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all

           them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;

24:009:026 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and

           Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in

           the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and

           all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

24:010:001 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of

           Israel:

24:010:002 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be

           not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are

           dismayed at them.

24:010:003 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree

           out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with

           the axe.

24:010:004 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with

           nails and with hammers, that it move not.

24:010:005 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must

           needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them;

           for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do

           good.

24:010:006 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art

           great, and thy name is great in might.

24:010:007 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth

           it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the

           nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto

           thee.

24:010:008 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a

           doctrine of vanities.

24:010:009 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold

           from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the

           founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the

           work of cunning men.

24:010:010 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an

           everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and

           the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

24:010:011 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the

           heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth,

           and from under these heavens.

24:010:012 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the

           world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his

           discretion.

24:010:013 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in

           the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the

           ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and

           bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

24:010:014 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is

           confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is

           falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

24:010:015 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their

           visitation they shall perish.

24:010:016 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of

           all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD

           of hosts is his name.

24:010:017 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the

           fortress.

24:010:018 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the

           inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them,

           that they may find it so.

24:010:019 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly

           this is a grief, and I must bear it.

24:010:020 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my

           children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none

           to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

24:010:021 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the

           LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks

           shall be scattered.

24:010:022 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion

           out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah

           desolate, and a den of dragons.

24:010:023 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is

           not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

24:010:024 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger,

           lest thou bring me to nothing.

24:010:025 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and

           upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have

           eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have

           made his habitation desolate.

24:011:001 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,

24:011:002 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of

           Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

24:011:003 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel;

           Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

24:011:004 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them

           forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying,

           Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command

           you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

24:011:005 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your

           fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as

           it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

24:011:006 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the

           cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear

           ye the words of this covenant, and do them.

24:011:007 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I

           brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day,

           rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

24:011:008 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every

           one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will

           bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I

           commanded them to do: but they did them not.

24:011:009 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men

           of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

24:011:010 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers,

           which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods

           to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have

           broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

24:011:011 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon

           them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they

           shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

24:011:012 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem

           go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but

           they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

24:011:013 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O

           Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem

           have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to

           burn incense unto Baal.

24:011:014 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry

           or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that

           they cry unto me for their trouble.

24:011:015 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath

           wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from

           thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

24:011:016 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of

           goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled

           fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

24:011:017 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil

           against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the

           house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to

           provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

24:011:018 And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it:

           then thou shewedst me their doings.

24:011:019 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the

           slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices

           against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit

           thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living,

           that his name may be no more remembered.

24:011:020 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest

           the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for

           unto thee have I revealed my cause.

24:011:021 Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that

           seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD,

           that thou die not by our hand:

24:011:022 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish

           them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and

           their daughters shall die by famine:

24:011:023 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil

           upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.

24:012:001 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me

           talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the

           wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very

           treacherously?

24:012:002 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow,

           yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and

           far from their reins.

24:012:003 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried

           mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the

           slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

24:012:004 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field

           wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the

           beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He

           shall not see our last end.

24:012:005 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee,

           then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of

           peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how

           wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

24:012:006 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they

           have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a

           multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair

           words unto thee.

24:012:007 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have

           given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her

           enemies.

24:012:008 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth

           out against me: therefore have I hated it.

24:012:009 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round

           about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the

           field, come to devour.

24:012:010 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my

           portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a

           desolate wilderness.

24:012:011 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth

           unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man

           layeth it to heart.

24:012:012 The spoilers are come upon all high places through the

           wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the

           one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no

           flesh shall have peace.

24:012:013 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put

           themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be

           ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the

           LORD.

24:012:014 Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that

           touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to

           inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and

           pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

24:012:015 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out

           I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring

           them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his

           land.

24:012:016 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the

           ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as

           they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be

           built in the midst of my people.

24:012:017 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy

           that nation, saith the LORD.

24:013:001 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle,

           and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

24:013:002 So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put

           it on my loins.

24:013:003 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,

24:013:004 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins,

           and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the

           rock.

24:013:005 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

24:013:006 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto

           me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence,

           which I commanded thee to hide there.

24:013:007 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from

           the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was

           marred, it was profitable for nothing.

24:013:008 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

24:013:009 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of

           Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

24:013:010 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in

           the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to

           serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle,

           which is good for nothing.

24:013:011 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I

           caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the

           whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto

           me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a

           glory: but they would not hear.

24:013:012 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the

           LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine:

           and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that

           every bottle shall be filled with wine?

24:013:013 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I

           will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings

           that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the

           prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with

           drunkenness.

24:013:014 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and

           the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare,

           nor have mercy, but destroy them.

24:013:015 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.

24:013:016 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and

           before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while

           ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and

           make it gross darkness.

24:013:017 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret

           places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run

           down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away

           captive.

24:013:018 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit

           down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown

           of your glory.

24:013:019 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open

           them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall

           be wholly carried away captive.

24:013:020 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north:

           where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

24:013:021 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast

           taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not

           sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

24:013:022 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things

           upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts

           discovered, and thy heels made bare.

24:013:023 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?

           then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

24:013:024 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away

           by the wind of the wilderness.

24:013:025 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith

           the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in

           falsehood.

24:013:026 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy

           shame may appear.

24:013:027 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness

           of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the

           fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made

           clean? when shall it once be?

24:014:001 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the

           dearth.

24:014:002 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black

           unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

24:014:003 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters:

           they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with

           their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and

           covered their heads.

24:014:004 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the

           earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

24:014:005 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it,

           because there was no grass.

24:014:006 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed

           up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there

           was no grass.

24:014:007 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it

           for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have

           sinned against thee.

24:014:008 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble,

           why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a

           wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

24:014:009 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that

           cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we

           are called by thy name; leave us not.

24:014:010 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to

           wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD

           doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and

           visit their sins.

24:014:011 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their

           good.

24:014:012 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer

           burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I

           will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the

           pestilence.

24:014:013 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them,

           Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but

           I will give you assured peace in this place.

24:014:014 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my

           name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither

           spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and

           divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their

           heart.

24:014:015 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that

           prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword

           and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine

           shall those prophets be consumed.

24:014:016 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the

           streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and

           they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor

           their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their

           wickedness upon them.

24:014:017 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes

           run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for

           the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great

           breach, with a very grievous blow.

24:014:018 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the

           sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are

           sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go

           about into a land that they know not.

24:014:019 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion?

           why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we

           looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of

           healing, and behold trouble!

24:014:020 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of

           our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

24:014:021 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the

           throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

24:014:022 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can

           cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he,

           O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou

           hast made all these things.

24:015:001 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood

           before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast

           them out of my sight, and let them go forth.

24:015:002 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither

           shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the

           LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the

           sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the

           famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.

24:015:003 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the

           sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the

           heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

24:015:004 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the

           earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah,

           for that which he did in Jerusalem.

24:015:005 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall

           bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?

24:015:006 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward:

           therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy

           thee; I am weary with repenting.

24:015:007 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I

           will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since

           they return not from their ways.

24:015:008 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I

           have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a

           spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it

           suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

24:015:009 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the

           ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath

           been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I

           deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.

24:015:010 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife

           and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither

           lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one

           of them doth curse me.

24:015:011 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant;

           verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time

           of evil and in the time of affliction.

24:015:012 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?

24:015:013 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil

           without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy

           borders.

24:015:014 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land

           which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger,

           which shall burn upon you.

24:015:015 O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge

           me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering:

           know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.

24:015:016 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was

           unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called

           by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

24:015:017 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat

           alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with

           indignation.

24:015:018 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which

           refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a

           liar, and as waters that fail?

24:015:019 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I

           bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou

           take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my

           mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto

           them.

24:015:020 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall:

           and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail

           against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver

           thee, saith the LORD.

24:015:021 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I

           will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

24:016:001 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,

24:016:002 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons

           or daughters in this place.

24:016:003 For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the

           daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their

           mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that

           begat them in this land;

24:016:004 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented;

           neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon

           the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the

           sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the

           fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

24:016:005 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning,

           neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my

           peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness

           and mercies.

24:016:006 Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they

           shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor

           cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

24:016:007 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to

           comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup

           of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

24:016:008 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with

           them to eat and to drink.

24:016:009 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I

           will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in

           your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the

           voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

24:016:010 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people

           all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath

           the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is

           our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed

           against the LORD our God?

24:016:011 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have

           forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods,

           and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have

           forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

24:016:012 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk

           every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they

           may not hearken unto me:

24:016:013 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye

           know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye

           serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you

           favour.

24:016:014 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it

           shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the

           children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

24:016:015 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel

           from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he

           had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land

           that I gave unto their fathers.

24:016:016 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they

           shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and

           they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill,

           and out of the holes of the rocks.

24:016:017 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from

           my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

24:016:018 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin

           double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled

           mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and

           abominable things.

24:016:019 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day

           of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends

           of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited

           lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

24:016:020 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?

24:016:021 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will

           cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know

           that my name is The LORD.

24:017:001 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the

           point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their

           heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

24:017:002 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves

           by the green trees upon the high hills.

24:017:003 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all

           thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin,

           throughout all thy borders.

24:017:004 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage

           that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies

           in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire

           in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

24:017:005 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,

           and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the

           LORD.

24:017:006 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not

           see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in

           the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

24:017:007 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope

           the LORD is.

24:017:008 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that

           spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when

           heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be

           careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from

           yielding fruit.

24:017:009 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately

           wicked: who can know it?

24:017:010 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give

           every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of

           his doings.

24:017:011 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he

           that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the

           midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

24:017:012 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our

           sanctuary.

24:017:013 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be

           ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the

           earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of

           living waters.

24:017:014 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall

           be saved: for thou art my praise.

24:017:015 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let

           it come now.

24:017:016 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow

           thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest:

           that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

24:017:017 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

24:017:018 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be

           confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed:

           bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double

           destruction.

24:017:019 Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the

           children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in,

           and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of

           Jerusalem;

24:017:020 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of

           Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

           that enter in by these gates:

24:017:021 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no

           burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of

           Jerusalem;

24:017:022 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath

           day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as

           I commanded your fathers.

24:017:023 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made

           their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive

           instruction.

24:017:024 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me,

           saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of

           this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to

           do no work therein;

24:017:025 Then shall there enter into 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 remain for

           ever.

24:017:026 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the

           places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and

           from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south,

           bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings,

           and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house

           of the LORD.

24:017:027 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day,

           and not to bear a burden, even entering in at 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.

24:018:001 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

24:018:002 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will

           cause thee to hear my words.

24:018:003 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he

           wrought a work on the wheels.

24:018:004 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of

           the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good

           to the potter to make it.

24:018:005 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24:018:006 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith

           the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are

           ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

24:018:007 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and

           concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to

           destroy it;

24:018:008 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from

           their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do

           unto them.

24:018:009 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and

           concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

24:018:010 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I

           will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit

           them.

24:018:011 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the

           inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold,

           I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you:

           return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways

           and your doings good.

24:018:012 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our

           own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his

           evil heart.

24:018:013 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen,

           who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a

           very horrible thing.

24:018:014 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the

           rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come

           from another place be forsaken?

24:018:015 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense

           to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways

           from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast

           up;

24:018:016 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every

           one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his

           head.

24:018:017 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I

           will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their

           calamity.

24:018:018 Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against

           Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor

           counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come,

           and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed

           to any of his words.

24:018:019 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that

           contend with me.

24:018:020 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit

           for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good

           for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

24:018:021 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour

           out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives

           be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their

           men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword

           in battle.

24:018:022 Let 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 hid snares for my feet.

24:018:023 Yet, LORD, thou 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

           thus with them in the time of thine anger.

24:019:001 Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, and

           take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the

           priests;

24:019:002 And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by

           the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that

           I shall tell thee,

24:019:003 And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and

           inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the

           God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the

           which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

24:019:004 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place,

           and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither

           they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and

           have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

24:019:005 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their

           sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I

           commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

24:019:006 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this

           place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the

           son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.

24:019:007 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in

           this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before

           their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives:

           and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the

           heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

24:019:008 And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one

           that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of

           all the plagues thereof.

24:019:009 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the

           flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the

           flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith

           their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten

           them.

24:019:010 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that

           go with thee,

24:019:011 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so

           will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a

           potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they

           shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.

24:019:012 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the

           inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:

24:019:013 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of

           Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all

           the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all

           the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto

           other gods.

24:019:014 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him

           to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house;

           and said to all the people,

24:019:015 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I

           will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil

           that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened

           their necks, that they might not hear my words.

24:020:001 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief

           governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah

           prophesied these things.

24:020:002 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the

           stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by

           the house of the LORD.

24:020:003 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth

           Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The

           LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.

24:020:004 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to

           thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the

           sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I

           will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and

           he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them

           with the sword.

24:020:005 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all

           the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and

           all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the

           hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them,

           and carry them to Babylon.

24:020:006 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go

           into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou

           shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy

           friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

24:020:007 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art

           stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily,

           every one mocketh me.

24:020:008 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil;

           because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and

           a derision, daily.

24:020:009 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any

           more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning

           fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and

           I could not stay.

24:020:010 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report,

           say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for

           my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we

           shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on

           him.

24:020:011 But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my

           persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they

           shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their

           everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.

24:020:012 But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the

           reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for

           unto thee have I opened my cause.

24:020:013 Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered

           the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

24:020:014 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein

           my mother bare me be blessed.

24:020:015 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A

           man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.

24:020:016 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew,

           and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and

           the shouting at noontide;

24:020:017 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might

           have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

24:020:018 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and

           sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

24:021:001 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king

           Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and

           Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

24:021:002 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar

           king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD

           will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he

           may go up from us.

24:021:003 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

24:021:004 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back

           the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight

           against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which

           besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into

           the midst of this city.

24:021:005 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand

           and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in

           great wrath.

24:021:006 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and

           beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

24:021:007 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of

           Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left

           in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the

           famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and

           into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those

           that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of

           the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor

           have mercy.

24:021:008 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD;

           Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of

           death.

24:021:009 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by

           the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and

           falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and

           his life shall be unto him for a prey.

24:021:010 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for

           good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the

           king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

24:021:011 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the

           word of the LORD;

24:021:012 O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the

           morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of

           the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that

           none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

24:021:013 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and

           rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come

           down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

24:021:014 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,

           saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest

           thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

24:022:001 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of

           Judah, and speak there this word,

24:022:002 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that

           sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and

           thy people that enter in by these gates:

24:022:003 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness,

           and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and

           do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless,

           nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

24:022:004 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by

           the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of

           David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants,

           and his people.

24:022:005 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith

           the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

24:022:006 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou

           art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will

           make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

24:022:007 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his

           weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast

           them into the fire.

24:022:008 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say

           every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus

           unto this great city?

24:022:009 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the

           covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and

           served them.

24:022:010 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore

           for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see

           his native country.

24:022:011 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah

           king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father,

           which went forth out of this place; He shall not return

           thither any more:

24:022:012 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him

           captive, and shall see this land no more.

24:022:013 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and

           his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service

           without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

24:022:014 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers,

           and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and

           painted with vermilion.

24:022:015 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did

           not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and

           then it was well with him?

24:022:016 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well

           with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

24:022:017 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy

           covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for

           oppression, and for violence, to do it.

24:022:018 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of

           Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying,

           Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him,

           saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

24:022:019 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast

           forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

24:022:020 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan,

           and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

24:022:021 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will

           not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou

           obeyedst not my voice.

24:022:022 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go

           into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and

           confounded for all thy wickedness.

24:022:023 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars,

           how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain

           as of a woman in travail!

24:022:024 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim

           king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I

           pluck thee thence;

24:022:025 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life,

           and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into

           the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand

           of the Chaldeans.

24:022:026 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into

           another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye

           die.

24:022:027 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall

           they not return.

24:022:028 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel

           wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and

           his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

24:022:029 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

24:022:030 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that

           shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall

           prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more

           in Judah.

24:023:001 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of

           my pasture! saith the LORD.

24:023:002 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the

           pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and

           driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will

           visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

24:023:003 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries

           whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their

           folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

24:023:004 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them:

           and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall

           they be lacking, saith the LORD.

24:023:005 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto

           David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,

           and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

24:023:006 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell

           safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE

           LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

24:023:007 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they

           shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the

           children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

24:023:008 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed

           of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all

           countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in

           their own land.

24:023:009 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my

           bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine

           hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words

           of his holiness.

24:023:010 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing

           the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are

           dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not

           right.

24:023:011 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have

           I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

24:023:012 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the

           darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I

           will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation,

           saith the LORD.

24:023:013 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they

           prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

24:023:014 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible

           thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen

           also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his

           wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the

           inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

24:023:015 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the

           proph