Jeremiah 19

Judah Is like a Broken Jar

1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.2 Take some of the elders of the people and the priests, and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the front of the Potsherd Gate. There speak the words I tell you.3 Say, ‘Kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon bring a disaster on this place that will amaze and frighten everyone who hears about it.4 The people of Judah have quit following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. They have burned sacrifices to other gods that neither they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah had ever known before. They filled this place with the blood of innocent people.5 They have built places on hilltops to worship Baal, where they burn their children in the fire to Baal. That is something I did not command or speak about; it never even entered my mind.6 Now people call this place the Valley of Ben Hinnom or Topheth, but the days are coming, says the Lord, when people will call it the Valley of Killing.

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“ ‘At this place I will ruin the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The enemy will chase them, and I will have them killed with swords. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild animals.8 I will completely destroy this city. People will make fun of it and shake their heads when they pass by. They will be shocked when they see how the city was destroyed.9 An enemy army will surround the city and will not let anyone go out to get food. I will make the people so hungry that they will eat the bodies of their own sons and daughters, and then they will begin to eat each other.’10 “While the people with you are watching, break that jar.11 Then say this: ‘The Lord All-Powerful says: I will break this nation and this city just as someone breaks a clay jar that cannot be put back together again. The dead people will be buried here in Topheth, because there is no other place for them.12 This is what I will do to these people and to this place, says the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth.13 The houses in Jerusalem and the king’s palaces will become as unclean as this place, Topheth, because the people worshiped gods on the roofs of their houses. They worshiped the stars and burned incense to honor them and gave drink offerings to gods.’ ”14 When Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he went to the Lord’s Temple, stood in the courtyard, and said to all the people:15 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will soon bring disaster to Jerusalem and the villages around it, as I said I would. This will happen because the people are very stubborn and do not listen at all to what I say.’ ”

Jeremiah 20

Pashhur Will Be Captured

1 Pashhur son of Immer was a priest and the highest officer in the Temple of the Lord. When he heard Jeremiah prophesying in the Temple courtyard,2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten. And he locked Jeremiah’s hands and feet between large blocks of wood at the Upper Gate of Benjamin of the Lord’s Temple.3 The next day when Pashhur took Jeremiah out of the blocks of wood, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not Pashhur. Now his name for you is Terror on Every Side.4 This is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. You will watch enemies killing your friends with swords. And I will give all the people of Judah to the king of Babylon, who will take them away as captives to Babylon and then will kill them with swords.5 I will give all the wealth of this city to its enemies—its goods, its valuables, and the treasures of the kings of Judah. The enemies will carry all those valuables off to Babylon.6 And Pashhur, you and everyone in your house will be taken captive. You will be forced to go to Babylon, where you will die and be buried, you and your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Fifth Complaint

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Lord, you tricked me, and I was fooled.
You are stronger than I am, so you won.
I have become a joke;
everyone makes fun of me all day long.

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Every time I speak, I shout.
I am always shouting about violence and destruction.
I tell the people about the message I received from the Lord,
but this only brings me insults.
The people make fun of me all day long.

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Sometimes I say to myself,
“I will forget about the Lord.
I will not speak anymore in his name.”
But then his message becomes like a burning fire inside me,
deep within my bones.
I get tired of trying to hold it inside of me,
and finally, I cannot hold it in.10 I hear many people whispering about me:“Terror on every side!Tell on him! Let’s tell the rulers about him.”My friends are all just waiting for me to make some mistake.They are saying,“Maybe we can trick himso we can defeat himand pay him back.”11 But the Lord is with me like a strong warrior,so those who are chasing me will trip and fall;they will not defeat me.They will be ashamed because they have failed,and their shame will never be forgotten.12 Lord All-Powerful, you test good people;you look deeply into the heart and mind of a person.I have told you my arguments against these people,so let me see you give them the punishment they deserve.13 Sing to the Lord!Praise the Lord!He saves the life of the poorfrom the power of the wicked.

Jeremiah’s Sixth Complaint

14 Let there be a curse on the day I was born;let there be no blessing on the day when my mother gave birth to me.15 Let there be a curse on the manwho brought my father the news:“You have a son!”This made my father very glad.16 Let that man be like the townsthe Lord destroyed without pity.Let him hear loud crying in the morningand battle cries at noon,17 because he did not kill me before I was born.Then my mother would have been my grave;she would have stayed pregnant forever.18 Why did I have to come out of my mother’s body?All I have known is trouble and sorrow,and my life will end in shame.

Jeremiah 21

God Rejects King Zedekiah’s Request

1 This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. It came when Zedekiah king of Judah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah.2 They said, “Ask the Lord for us what will happen, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will do miracles for us as he did in the past so Nebuchadnezzar will stop attacking us and leave.”

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But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell King Zedekiah this:4 ‘Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have weapons of war in your hands to defend yourselves against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians, who are all around the city wall. But I will make those weapons useless. Soon I will bring them into the center of this city.5 In my anger, my very great anger, I myself will fight against you with my great power and strength.6 I will kill everything living in Jerusalem—both people and animals. They will die from terrible diseases.7 Then, says the Lord, I’ll hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in Jerusalem who do not die from the terrible diseases or battle or hunger, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will let those win who want to kill the people of Judah, so the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be killed in war. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy or pity or feel sorry for them!’

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“Also tell this to the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will let you choose to live or die.9 Anyone who stays in Jerusalem will die in war or from hunger or from a terrible disease. But anyone who goes out of Jerusalem and surrenders to the Babylonians who are attacking you will live. Anyone who leaves the city will save his life as if it were a prize won in war.10 I have decided to make trouble for this city and not to help it, says the Lord. I will give it to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.’11 “Say to Judah’s royal family: ‘Hear the word of the Lord.12 Family of David, this is what the Lord says:You must judge people fairly every morning.Save the person who has been robbedfrom the power of his attacker.If you don’t, I will become very angry.My anger will be like a fire that no one can put out,because you have done evil things.13 “ ‘Jerusalem, I am against you,you who live on top of the mountainover this valley, says the Lord.You say, “No one can attack usor come into our strong city.”14 But I will give you the punishment you deserve, says the Lord.I will start a fire in your foreststhat will burn up everything around you!’ ”