Jeremiah 1-3; Psalms 13 - Prayer Tents

1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.H1697H3414H1121H2518H3548H6068H776H1144 2The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.H1697H3068H3117H2977H1121H526H4428H3063H7969H6240H8141H4427 3The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.H3117H3079H1121H2977H4428H3063H8552H6249H6240H8141H6667H1121H2977H4428H3063H1540H3389H1540H2549H2320

Jeremiah’s Call and First Visions

4The Lord gave me this message.H1697H3068H559 5“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”H2962H3335H990H3045H3318H7358H6942H5414H5030H1471 6“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”H559H162H136H3069H3045H1696H5288 7The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.H3068H559H559H5288H3212H7971H6680H1696 8And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3372H6440H5337H5002H3068 9Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!H3068H7971H3027H5060H6310H3068H559H5414H1697H6310 10Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”H7200H3117H6485H1471H4467H5428H5422H6H2040H1129H5193 11Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”H1697H3068H559H3414H7200H559H7200H4731H8247 12And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”H559H3068H3190H7200H8245H1697H6213 13Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?” And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”H1697H3068H8145H559H7200H559H7200H5301H5518H6440H6440H6828 14“Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land.H3068H559H6828H7451H6605H3427H776 15Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah.H7121H4940H4467H6828H5002H3068H935H5414H376H3678H6607H8179H3389H2346H5439H5892H3063 16I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil—for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!H1696H4941H5921H7451H5800H6999H312H430H7812H4639H3027 17“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.H247H4975H6965H1696H6680H2865H6440H2865H6440 18For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land—the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.H589H5414H3117H4013H5892H1270H5982H5178H2346H776H4428H3063H8269H3548H5971H776 19They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3898H3201H5002H3068H5337

The Lord’s Case against His People

2The Lord gave me another message. He said,H1697H3068H559 2“Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.H1980H7121H241H3389H559H559H3068H2142H2617H5271H160H3623H3212H310H4057H776H2232 3In those days Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of his children. All who harmed his people were declared guilty, and disaster fell on them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3478H6944H3068H7225H8393H398H816H7451H935H5002H3068 4Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel!H8085H1697H3068H1004H3290H4940H1004H3478 5This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.H559H3068H5766H1H4672H7368H3212H310H1892H1891 6They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness—a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’H559H3068H5927H776H4714H3212H4057H776H6160H7745H776H6723H6757H776H376H5674H120H3427 7“And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you.H935H3759H776H398H6529H2898H935H2930H776H7760H5159H8441 8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.H3548H559H3068H8610H8451H3045H7462H6586H5030H5012H1168H1980H310H3276 9Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come.H7378H5002H3068H1121H1121H7378 10“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?H5674H339H3794H7200H7971H6938H995H3966H7200 11Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!H1471H3235H430H430H5971H4171H3519H3276 12The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.H8074H8064H8175H3966H2717H5002H3068 13“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!H5971H6213H8147H7451H5800H4726H2416H4325H2672H877H7665H877H3557H4325

The Results of Israel’s Sin

14“Why has Israel become a slave? Why has he been carried away as plunder?H3478H5650H1004H3211H4069H957 15Strong lions have roared against him, and the land has been destroyed. The towns are now in ruins, and no one lives in them anymore.H3715H7580H5414H6963H7896H776H8047H5892H3341H3427 16Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes, have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.H1121H5297H8471H7462H6936 17And you have brought this upon yourselves by rebelling against the Lord your God, even though he was leading you on the way!H6213H5800H3068H430H6256H3212H1870 18“What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to you are the streams of the Nile or the waters of the Euphrates River?H1870H4714H8354H4325H7883H1870H804H8354H4325H5104 19Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!H7451H3256H4878H3198H3045H7200H7451H4751H5800H3068H430H6345H5002H136H3069H6635 20“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.H5769H7665H5923H5423H4147H559H5674H5647H1364H1389H7488H6086H6808H2181 21But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?H5193H8321H571H2233H2015H5494H5237H1612 22No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!H3526H5427H7235H1287H5771H3799H6440H5002H136H3069

Israel, an Unfaithful Wife

23“You say, ‘That’not true! I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’ But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.H559H2930H1980H310H1168H7200H1870H1516H3045H6213H7031H1072H8308H1870 24You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain her lust? Those who desire her don’t need to search, for she goes running to them!H6501H3928H4057H7602H7307H185H5315H8385H7725H1245H3286H2320H4672 25When will you stop running? When will you stop panting after other gods? But you say, ‘Save your breath. I’m in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now!’H4513H7272H3182H1627H6773H559H2976H157H2114H310H3212 26“Israel is like a thief who feels shame only when he gets caught. They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—all are alike in this.H1590H1322H4672H1004H3478H3001H4428H8269H3548H5030 27To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!’H559H6086H1H68H3205H6437H6203H6440H6256H7451H559H6965H3467 28But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.H430H6213H6965H3467H6256H7451H4557H5892H430H3063 29Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,” says the Lord.H7378H6586H5002H3068 30“I have punished your children, but they did not respond to my discipline. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.H7723H5221H1121H3947H4148H2719H398H5030H7843H738 31“O my people, listen to the words of the Lord! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’H1755H7200H1697H3068H4057H3478H776H3991H559H5971H7300H935 32Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.H1330H7911H5716H3618H7196H5971H7911H3117H4557 33“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!H3190H1870H1245H160H3925H7451H1870 34Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!H3671H4672H1818H5315H34H5355H4672H4290 35And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.H559H5352H639H7725H8199H559H2398 36First here, then there—you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.H235H3966H8138H1870H954H4714H954H804 37In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.H3318H3027H7218H3068H3988H4009H6743

3“If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.H559H376H7971H802H1980H312H376H7725H776H2610H2610H2181H7227H7453H7725H5002H3068 2“Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness.H5375H5869H8205H7200H375H7693H7901H1870H3427H6163H4057H2610H776H2184H7451 3That’s why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.H7241H4513H4456H2181H802H4696H3985H3637 4Yet you say to me, ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.H7121H1H441H5271 5Surely you won’t be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!’ So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”H5201H5769H8104H5331H1696H6213H7451H3201

Judah Follows Israel’s Example

6During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree.H3068H559H3117H2977H4428H7200H4878H3478H6213H1980H1364H2022H8478H7488H6086H2181 7I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.H559H310H6213H7725H7725H901H269H3063H7200 8She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution.H7200H182H4878H3478H5003H7971H5414H5612H3748H898H269H3063H3372H3212H2181 9Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.H6963H2184H2610H776H5003H68H6086 10But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H901H269H3063H7725H3820H8267H5002H3068

Hope for Wayward Israel

11Then the Lord said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah!H3068H559H4878H3478H6663H5315H898H3063 12Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.H1980H7121H1697H6828H559H7725H4878H3478H5002H3068H6440H5307H2623H5002H3068H5201H5769 13Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!H3045H5771H6586H3068H430H6340H1870H2114H7488H6086H8085H6963H5002H3068 14“Return home, you wayward children,” says the Lord, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel—one from this town and two from that family—from wherever you are scattered.H7725H7726H1121H5002H3068H1166H3947H259H5892H8147H4940H935H6726 15And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.H5414H7462H3820H7462H1844H7919 16“And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.H7235H6509H776H3117H5002H3068H559H727H1285H3068H5927H3820H2142H6485H6213 17In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.H6256H7121H3389H3678H3068H1471H6960H8034H3068H3389H3212H310H8307H7451H3820 18In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave their ancestors as an inheritance forever.H3117H1004H3063H3212H1004H3478H935H3162H776H6828H776H5157H1 19“I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.H559H7896H1121H5414H2532H776H6643H5159H6635H1471H559H7121H1H7725H310 20But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.”H403H802H898H7453H898H1004H3478H5002H3068 21Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God.H6963H8085H8205H1065H8469H1121H3478H5753H1870H7911H3068H430 22“My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.H7725H7726H1121H7495H4878H857H3068H430 23Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.H403H8267H1389H1995H2022H403H3068H430H8668H3478 24From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters—was squandered on a delusion.H1322H398H3018H1H5271H6629H1241H1121H1323 25Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.”H7901H1322H3639H3680H2398H3068H430H1H5271H3117H8085H6963H3068H430

13[For the choir director: A psalm of David.] O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?H5329H4210H1732H7911H3068H5331H5641H6440 2How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?H7896H6098H5315H3015H3824H3119H341H7311 3Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.H5027H6030H3068H430H215H5869H3462H4194 4Don't let my enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!" Don't let them rejoice at my downfall.H341H559H3201H6862H1523H4131 5But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.H982H2617H3820H1523H3444 6I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.H7891H3068H1580