Isaiah 66

Chapter 66

1 This is what the LORD says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?2 My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.t
I, the LORD, have spoken!
“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
who tremble at my word.3 But those who choose their own ways—
delighting in their detestable sins—
will not have their offerings accepted.
When such people sacrifice a bull,
it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.
When they sacrifice a lamb,
it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!
When they bring an offering of grain,
they might as well offer the blood of a pig.
When they burn frankincense,
it’s as if they had blessed an idol.4 I will send them great trouble—
all the things they feared.
For when I called, they did not answer.
When I spoke, they did not listen.
They deliberately sinned before my very eyes
and chose to do what they know I despise.”5 Hear this message from the LORD,
all you who tremble at his words:
“Your own people hate you
and throw you out for being loyal to my name.
‘Let the LORD be honored!’ they scoff.
‘Be joyful in him!’
But they will be put to shame.6 What is all the commotion in the city?
What is that terrible noise from the Temple?
It is the voice of the LORD
taking vengeance against his enemies.7 “Before the birth pains even begin,
Jerusalem gives birth to a son.8 Who has ever seen anything as strange as this?
Who ever heard of such a thing?
Has a nation ever been born in a single day?
Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment?
But by the time Jerusalem’st birth pains begin,
her children will be born.9 Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth
and then not deliver it?” asks the LORD.
“No! I would never keep this nation from being born,”
says your God.10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem!
Be glad with her, all you who love her
and all you who mourn for her.11 Drink deeply of her glory
even as an infant drinks at its mother’s comforting breasts.”12 This is what the LORD says:
“I will give Jerusalem a river of peace and prosperity.
The wealth of the nations will flow to her.
Her children will be nursed at her breasts,
carried in her arms, and held on her lap.13 I will comfort you there in Jerusalem
as a mother comforts her child.”14 When you see these things, your heart will rejoice.
You will flourish like the grass!
Everyone will see the LORD’s hand of blessing on his servants—
and his anger against his enemies.15 See, the LORD is coming with fire,
and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.16 The LORD will punish the world by fire
and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
and many will be killed by him.

17 “Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the LORD.
18 “I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory.19 I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyanst and Lydianst (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece,t and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations.20 They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the LORD.

21 “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the LORD, have spoken!
22 “As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
says the LORD.23 “All humanity will come to worship me
from week to week
and from month to month.24 And as they go out, they will see
the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
will view them with utter horror.”

Jeremiah 1

Chapter 1

1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.2 The LORD first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.t

3 The 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 Augustt of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.

Jeremiah’s Call and First Visions

4 The LORD gave me this message:
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.”

6 “O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7 The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

9 Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!10 Today 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.”

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”

12 And the LORD said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching,t and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”

13 Then 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.”
14 “Yes,” the LORD said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land.

15 Listen! 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.16 I 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!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.18 For 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.19 They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”

Jeremiah 2

Chapter 2

The LORD’s Case against His People

1 The LORD gave me another message. He said,

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.3 In those days Israel was holy to the LORD,
the first of his children.t
All who harmed his people were declared guilty,
and disaster fell on them.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”4 Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel!

5 This 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.6 They 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?’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.8 The 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.9 Therefore, 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.10 “Go west and look in the land of Cyprust;
go east and search through the land of Kedar.
Has anyone ever heard of anything
as strange as this?11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious Godt
for worthless idols!12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
says the LORD.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!

The Results of Israel’s Sin

14 “Why has Israel become a slave?
Why has he been carried away as plunder?15 Strong lions have roared against him,
and the land has been destroyed.
The towns are now in ruins,
and no one lives in them anymore.16 Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphist and Tahpanhes,
have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.17 And you have brought this upon yourselves
by rebelling against the LORD your God,
even though he was leading you on the way!18 “What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt
and your covenants with Assyria?
What good to you are the streams of the Nilet
or the waters of the Euphrates River?t19 Your 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!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.21 But 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?22 No amount of soap or lye can make you clean.
I still see the stain of your guilt.
I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

Israel, an Unfaithful Wife

23 “You say, ‘That’s 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.24 You 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!25 When 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!’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.27 To 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!’28 But 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.29 Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
You are the ones who have rebelled,”
says the LORD.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.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!’32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry?
Does a bride hide her wedding dress?
Yet for years on end
my people have forgotten me.33 “How you plot and scheme to win your lovers.
Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!34 Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor,
though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!35 And 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.36 First 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.37 In 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.