Jeremiah 18 Cross References - LEB

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "Stand up and go down to the house of the potter, and there I will let you hear my words." ³ So I went down to the house of the potter and look, there he was doing work at the potter's wheels. ⁴ And the vessel that he was making with the clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter, so _⌊he made again_⌋* another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make. ⁵ And the word of Yahweh came to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ⁶ "Like this potter, am I not able to do to you, O house of Israel?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "Look, like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. ⁷ One moment I speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, to uproot, and to tear down, and to destroy it.* ⁸ But if that nation turns back from its evil that I have threatened against it, then I will relent concerning the disaster that I planned to do to it. ⁹ And the next moment I speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant it.* ¹⁰ But if it does evil in my sight, to not listen to my voice, then I will relent concerning the good that I said I would do to it. ¹¹ "So now then, say, please, to the _⌊people_⌋* of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I am preparing evil against you, and I am planning a plan against you. Please turn back, each one from his evil way, and walk rightly in your ways and your deeds." ' ¹² But they will say, 'It is hopeless, for we will go after our own plans, and each one of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' ¹³ "Therefore thus says Yahweh,
'Please ask among the nations, "Who has heard _⌊the like of this_⌋?"* The virgin of Israel has done something very horrible. ¹⁴ Does the snow of Lebanon leave from the crags* of Sirion? Or are the cold waters flowing from distant mountains dried up? ¹⁵ But my people have forgotten me. They make smoke offerings to the idols,* and they caused them to stumble in their ways, the ancient ways, to go into _⌊bypaths_⌋,* not one that is built up. ¹⁶ To make their land a horror, an object of whistling for eternity. All who pass by it will be appalled, and he will shake his head. ¹⁷ Like the wind from the east I will scatter them _⌊before_⌋* the enemy. I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.'" ¹⁸ Then they said, "Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from the priest, nor advice from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come and _⌊let us bring charges against him_⌋,* and let us not listen attentively to any of his words." ¹⁹ Listen attentively to me, O Yahweh, and listen to the voice of my opponents. ²⁰ Should good be repaid in place of evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember my standing _⌊before you_⌋* to speak good for them, to avert your wrath from them. ²¹ _⌊Therefore_⌋* give their children to the famine, and hand them over to the _⌊power_⌋* of the sword, and let their wives be bereaved and widows, and let their men be killed by death, their young men struck dead by the sword in the battle. ²² Let a cry for help be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring upon them the raiding band, for they have dug a pit to catch me, and they have fixed secretly a trap for my feet. ²³ But you, O Yahweh, you know _⌊all their plans of assassination against me_⌋.* You must not make atonement for their iniquity, and you must not cause their sin to be blotted out from _⌊before you_⌋.* But let them be overthrown _⌊before you_⌋.* Deal with them in the time of your anger.

² at that time, Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying,
"Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins, and take off your sandals* from your feet,"
and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.

¹ Thus Yahweh said to me: "Go and buy for yourself a loincloth of linen and put it on your loins, but you must not _⌊place_⌋* it in water."

¹ Thus said Yahweh, "Go and buy a potter's earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people, and some of the leaders of the priests, ² and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which is at the entrance of the Gate of the Potsherd, and proclaim there the words that I speak to you.

²² But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have caused them to turn from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

¹ "Now,* son of man,* take for yourself a brick, and you must put it _⌊before you_⌋,* and you must portray on it a city, Jerusalem. ² And you must build against it siege works, and you must build against it a bulwark, and you must heap against it a siege ramp, and you must set up against it camps and put against it a battering ram all around. ³ And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it as a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be _⌊under siege_⌋,* and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel. ⁴ And you, lie down on your left side, and you must put* the guilt of the house of Israel on it. You will carry their guilt the number of days that you will lie on it. ⁵ And I will give to you the years of their guilt according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days, and you must bear the guilt* of the house of Israel.

⁷ This is what he showed me: Behold, my Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plummet, and a plummet was in his hand.

⁶ But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you _⌊what you must do_⌋."*

¹ Although* God spoke long ago in many parts* and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets,

³ But Jonah set out to flee toward Tarshish from _⌊the presence of_⌋* Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from _⌊the presence of_⌋* Yahweh.

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.

¹⁹ "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

⁹ Woe to the one who strives with his _⌊maker_⌋,* a potsherd among* potsherds of earth! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, 'What are you making?' and 'Your work has no hands'?

⁶ "Like this potter, am I not able to do to you, O house of Israel?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "Look, like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

²⁰ On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, "Why did you make me like this"?* ²¹ Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that is for _⌊honorable use_⌋* and one that is for _⌊ordinary use_⌋*? ²² And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? ²³ And he did so* in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory,

⁸ Yet now Yahweh, you are our father; we are the clay and you are our _⌊potter_⌋,* and we all are the work of your hand.

⁴ And the vessel that he was making with the clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter, so _⌊he made again_⌋* another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make.

²³ And inasmuch that the king saw the watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven* and he said, "Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and let his lot be with the animals of the field _⌊until seven times have passed over him_⌋."*

¹⁵ Is it not* permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?'

²⁰ On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, "Why did you make me like this"?* ²¹ Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that is for _⌊honorable use_⌋* and one that is for _⌊ordinary use_⌋*?

³⁴ "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?*

¹⁰ See, I appoint you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, and to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant."

¹⁴ Thus says Yahweh concerning all of the evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave as an inheritance to my people Israel: "Look, I am about to drive them out from their land, and the house of Judah I will drive out from among them. ¹⁵ _⌊And then_⌋* after my driving them out, I will once again have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance, and each one to his land. ¹⁶ _⌊And then_⌋,* if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '_⌊as Yahweh lives_⌋,'* even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people. ¹⁷ But if they do not listen, then _⌊I will completely uproot and destroy that nation_⌋."* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁹ look, I am going to send and take all the clans* of the north,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will send* to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and _⌊everlasting ruins_⌋.* ¹⁰ And I will exterminate from them the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ And all this land will become a site of ruins, a desolation, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.* ¹² _⌊And then_⌋* when the seventy years* are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it _⌊an everlasting waste_⌋.* ¹³ And I will bring upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, everything that is written in this scroll which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For many nations and great kings will let them work, even them, and I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.'"

⁴ Thus you will say to him: 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to pluck up, it is all the land.

⁸ Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh are on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁴ And Jonah began to go into the city a journey of one day, and he cried out and said, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be demolished!"*

¹² Why should the Egyptians _⌊say_⌋*, 'With evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth'?* Turn from _⌊your fierce anger_⌋* and relent concerning the disaster for your people.

³⁶ For Yahweh will judge on behalf of his people, and concerning his servants; he will change his mind when he sees that their power has disappeared, and there is no one left, confined* or free.*

¹⁸ And when Yahweh raised leaders* for them, Yahweh was with the leader,* and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the leader,* for Yahweh was moved by their groaning because of their persecutors and oppressors.

¹⁵ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* said to Yahweh, "We have sinned; _⌊do to us accordingly as you see fit_⌋;* only please deliver us this day." ¹⁶ So they removed the foreign gods from their midst and served Yahweh; and _⌊he could no longer bear_⌋* the misery of Israel.

³³ When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy _⌊because_⌋* they sinned against you, and when they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, ³⁴ then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors.*

⁶ Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "Yahweh is righteous."

¹³ Return,* O Yahweh. How long? And have compassion on* your servants.

⁴⁵ And he remembered his covenant with them, and relented based on the abundance of his loyal love.

¹⁴ for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people and will have compassion on his servants.

¹⁶ Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil! ¹⁷ Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue the oppressed! Defend the orphan! Plead for the widow! ¹⁸ "Come now, and let us argue," says Yahweh. "Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow; even though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and you are obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place. ⁴ Do not trust in _⌊the deceitful words_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, they are the temple of Yahweh.' ⁵ For if you truly make your ways and your deeds good, if you truly do justice between a man and his neighbor, ⁶ you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods _⌊to your harm_⌋,* ⁷ then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors* _⌊forever and ever_⌋.*

⁶ You have forsaken me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "You go backward, so I have stretched my hand against you, and I have destroyed you. I am tired of becoming remorseful.

³ Perhaps they will listen and turn back each from his evil way, and I will relent of the disaster that I am planning to do to them because of their evil deeds.

¹³ Now _⌊therefore_⌋* amend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and Yahweh will relent of the disaster that he has spoken over you.

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah actually put him to death? Was he not in fear of Yahweh? And he entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster that he had spoken against them. But we are about to do great disaster to ourselves."

³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears all the disasters* that I am planning to do to them, then they may turn back each one from his evil way, and I will forgive their guilt and their sin."

¹⁰ 'If only you will stay in this land, then I will build you and I will not tear you down, and I will plant you and I will not pluck you up, for I relent of the disaster that I have brought to you.

²¹ But if the wicked returns from all of his sins* that he has done and he keeps all of my statutes and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die!

¹¹ Say to them, '_⌊As I live_⌋,'* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, '_⌊Surely I have no delight_⌋* in the death of the wicked, _⌊except_⌋* in the wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil ones, for why should you die, house of Israel?'

¹³ When I say to the righteous, 'Certainly he will live,' and he trusted in* his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness* will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die.

⁸ How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is disturbed* within me; _⌊all_⌋* my compassions are aroused.

¹³ Rend your hearts* and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he is gracious and compassionate, _⌊slow to anger_⌋* and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm. ¹⁴ Who knows whether he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, an offering and a libation, for Yahweh your God?

³ Yahweh relented concerning this. "It will not be," said Yahweh. ⁴ This is what my Lord Yahweh showed me, and look, my Lord Yahweh was going to call for a legal case with fire, and it devoured the great deep and it ate up the plots of ground. ⁵ Then I said, "O Lord Yahweh, please stop! How can Jacob stand, because he is small?" ⁶ Yahweh also relented concerning this. "This also will not be," said my Lord Yahweh.

⁵ The waters encompassed me up to my neck; the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. ⁶ I went down to the foundations of the mountains; the Underworld—its bars were around me forever. But you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God. ⁷ When my life was ebbing away from me, I remembered Yahweh, and my prayer came to you, _⌊to your holy temple_⌋.* ⁸ Those who worship vain idols forsake their loyal love.* ⁹ But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you; I will fulfill what I have vowed. Deliverance* belongs to Yahweh!" ¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land.

⁹ Who knows? God may relent and change his mind and turn _⌊from his blazing anger_⌋* _⌊so that_⌋* we will not perish." ¹⁰ And God saw their deeds—that they turned from their evil ways—and God changed his mind about the evil that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.*

² And he prayed to Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh, was this not _⌊what I said_⌋* while I was in my homeland? Therefore _⌊I originally fled_⌋* to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger _⌊and having great steadfast love_⌋,* and one who relents concerning calamity.*

³ No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as well! ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you think that they were sinners worse than all the people who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!"

² a time to bear* and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to root up what is planted;

¹⁷ And Yahweh of hosts, the one who planted you, has spoken evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, that they have done to themselves, to provoke me to anger by making smoke offerings to Baal."

¹⁸ Thus says Yahweh:
'Look, I will restore the fortunes* of the tents of Jacob, and I will have compassion on his dwellings, and the city will be rebuilt upon its mound, and the citadel fortress will stand on its rightful site.

⁴ I will again build you, and you will be built, O virgin Israel. You will again adorn yourself with your tambourines, and you will go forth in the dancing in a ring of the merrymakers.

²⁸ _⌊And then_⌋* as I have watched over them to pull up, and to tear down, and to annihilate, and to destroy, and to do evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

³⁸ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

⁴¹ And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."*

¹¹ On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair its breaches and will raise up its ruins and will build it like the days of old. ¹² Thus they may take possession of the remnant of Edom and all the nations _⌊who are called by my name_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, who does this. ¹³ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, the one who treads grapes will catch up with the one who sows the seed. And the mountains will drip sweet wine and all of the hills will flow with it. ¹⁴ And I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and will drink their wine, and they will make gardens and will eat their fruit. ¹⁵ And I will plant them on their land and they will not be uprooted again from their land that I have given to them," says Yahweh your God.

²² But because all the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice,

³⁴ According to the number of the days* that you explored the land, forty days,* _⌊a day for each year_⌋,* you will bear your sins forty years,* and you will know my opposition.'

³⁰ Therefore,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh the God of Israel, 'though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor* would walk before me forever, but now,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt!

¹³ Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

¹¹ "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not kept my word." _⌊Samuel became angry_⌋,* and he cried out to Yahweh all night.

³⁵ Samuel _⌊did not see Saul again_⌋* until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.

⁵ But regarding those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

²³ But I only commanded them this word, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.' ²⁴ Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and _⌊they became worse instead of better_⌋.* ²⁵ From the day that your ancestors* came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, _⌊sending again and again_⌋.* ²⁶ Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.* ²⁷ So you shall speak to them all these words, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. ²⁸ "And you shall say to them, 'This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and they have not accepted discipline. The truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouths.*

²⁴ And _⌊when the righteous turns_⌋* from his righteousness, so that* he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then* will he live because of all of his righteousness* that he did? Those things will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his _⌊sin that he committed_⌋.* Through* them he shall die.

¹⁸ When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die _⌊because of it_⌋.*

²⁰ And so you shall do on the seventh day in the month for anyone doing wrong inadvertently or due to ignorance, and so you must make atonement for the temple.*

⁶ and those who turned back from _⌊following_⌋* Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him."

³ And they said _⌊to each other_⌋,* "Come, let us make bricks and _⌊burn them thoroughly_⌋."* And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar. ⁴ And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand _⌊each other's language_⌋."*

⁵ So the king of Aram said, "Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He went and took _⌊with him_⌋* ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

¹³ Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of his every prophet, with every seer saying, "Turn from all of your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my ordinances, according to all the law which I commanded your ancestors,* which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets."

¹³ "Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll that was found. For the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us is great because our ancestors* did not listen to the words of this scroll to do according to all that is written concerning us!"

⁵ And now let me tell you what I myself am about to do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge, and it shall become a devastation. I will break down its wall, and it shall become a trampling.

⁶ Seek Yahweh _⌊while he lets himself be found_⌋;* call him _⌊while he is_⌋* near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that* he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will _⌊forgive manifold_⌋.*

¹ A _⌊saying_⌋:* 'Look, if a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him _⌊and she becomes another man's wife_⌋,* will he return to her again?' Will not that land be greatly defiled? And you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, would you now return to me?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

²² Return, O apostate* children, I will heal your backsliding. 'Look, we come to you, for you are Yahweh our God.

⁶ Lift up a signal toward Zion, bring yourselves to safety; you must not remain standing, for I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction.

²³ I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness, and to the heavens, and they were without their light.

³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place.

¹⁹ And I was like a gentle ram-lamb that is brought to slaughter, and I did not know that they planned plans against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered."

¹⁸ Then they said, "Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from the priest, nor advice from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come and _⌊let us bring charges against him_⌋,* and let us not listen attentively to any of his words."

⁵ _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors* from a long time back and until forever,

¹⁵ And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊I have sent them over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, _⌊so that you may live_⌋* on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.'* But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me.

⁷ Perhaps their plea will fall _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh and each one will turn away from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that Yahweh pronounced against this people."

¹¹ Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. Because his plan concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance for his temple.

³⁹ Why should any living person complain about his sin? ⁴⁰ Let us test and examine our ways; let us return to Yahweh. ⁴¹ Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in the heavens.

²² Because you disheartened the heart of the righteous by deception, and I have not* caused him pain, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he did not turn* from his wicked way to save his life.

²³ Have I delight by any means* in the death of the wicked, _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, and not at his turning from his way, _⌊so that_⌋* he lives?

³⁰ "Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one* according to his ways," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. "Repent* and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you. ³¹ Throw _⌊away from yourselves_⌋* all of your transgressions that you committed,* and make _⌊for yourselves_⌋* a new heart and new spirit, and so why will you die, house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. "And so repent* and live!"

³ Therefore, thus says Yahweh: Look! I am planning disaster against this family from which you will not be able to remove your necks. You will not walk proudly, for it is a time of disaster.

³ You must say to them: 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return to me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, "and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts.

²⁰ but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem and all the region of Judea and to the Gentiles, I proclaimed that they should repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance.

¹³ Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,"

¹ Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you!

⁵ And Yahweh saw that the evil of humankind was great upon the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always* only evil.

²¹ And Yahweh smelled the soothing fragrance, and Yahweh said _⌊to himself_⌋,* "_⌊Never again will I curse_⌋* the ground for the sake of humankind, because the inclination of the heart of humankind is evil from his youth. _⌊Nor will I ever again destroy_⌋* all life as I have done.

¹⁹ And then when he hears the words of this oath, then* _⌊he will assure himself_⌋* in his heart, _⌊saying_⌋,* '_⌊Safety shall be mine even though I go in the stubbornness of my heart_⌋,'* thereby destroying the well-watered land along with the parched.*

³³ While he was still speaking with them, suddenly the messenger was coming down to him, and he said, "Look this trouble is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?"

¹⁰ You grow weary by the greatness of your way, but you did not say, 'Despairing!' You found the _⌊renewal_⌋* of your _⌊strength_⌋,* therefore you do not grow weak.

²⁵ Restrain your foot from being barefoot, and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is hopeless. No! For I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'*

¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of Yahweh,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

²⁴ Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and _⌊they became worse instead of better_⌋.*

⁸ But they did not obey and they did not incline their ear. Instead each one walked in the stubbornness of his* evil heart. Therefore, I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded them* to do, and they did not do it.'"*

¹² And _⌊you have behaved badly_⌋* more than your ancestors,* and look, you are going each one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, without listening to me.

¹⁷ They are* continually saying to those who disregard the word of Yahweh, 'Peace it will be to you,' and to _⌊each one_⌋* who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.'

¹⁷ But certainly we will do _⌊everything_⌋* that went out from our mouths,* to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors,* our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then _⌊we had enough to eat_⌋,* and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

¹¹ And he said to me, "Son of man,* these bones are all of the house of Israel; look! they are saying, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is destroyed; _⌊we are cut off as far as we are concerned_⌋.'*

²¹ For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, ²² adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, _⌊envy_⌋,* abusive speech, pride, foolishness.

⁵¹ He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has dispersed the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come* to the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, _⌊for this has never happened before!_⌋*

²² Then* Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the _⌊palace_⌋,* Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah with torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

⁸ Who has heard anything like this? Who has seen anything like these things? Can a land be born in one day? Or can a nation be born in a moment?
Yet when she was in labor, Zion indeed gave birth to her children.

¹⁰ For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, and send to Kedar and consider very closely, and see if there has been a thing like this: ¹¹ Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods! But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit. ¹² Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder; be utterly desolate," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹³ "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the source* of living water, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

³⁰ A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land.

¹⁷ "And you shall say to them this word,
'Let my eyes melt with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for with a great wound the virgin daughter of my people is broken, with a very incurable wound.

¹⁴ And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible. They commit adultery, and they walk in lies,* and they make strong the hands of evildoers, so that they have not turned back each from his wickedness. All of them have become to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah."

¹⁵ The Lord has rejected all my mighty ones in my midst. He called an assembly against me, to crush my young men; like in a wine press, the Lord has trodden on the virgin daughter of Judah.

¹⁰ In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible; Ephraim's unfaithfulness is there. Israel is defiled.

¹ It is reported everywhere that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind which does not even exist among the Gentiles, so that someone has the wife of his father.

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

¹² My people—children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people, your leaders are misleading you, and they confuse the course of your paths.

¹⁶ And the leaders of this people were misleading them, and those who were led were confused.

²⁹ Look! All of them are deception; their works are nothing; their images are wind and emptiness.

¹⁴ And one shall say, "Build up, build up! Clear the way! Remove the obstacles* from the way of my people!"

¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates! Make the way clear _⌊for_⌋* the people! Pile up, pile up the highway; clear it of stones!* Lift up an ensign over the peoples!

⁷ your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors* together, says Yahweh, because they made smoke offerings on the mountains and they taunted me on the hills, I will measure their punishment from the beginning into the fold of their garment."

¹³ "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the source* of living water, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁹ Your wickedness will chastise you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter, your forsaking of Yahweh, your God, and fear of me is not in you," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

³² Can a young woman forget her ornaments?* Or a bride her sashes? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

²¹ "A voice is heard on the barren heights, the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh: "Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.* But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'*

¹⁵ They are vanity, a work of mockery, at the time of their punishment, they will perish.

²⁵ This is your lot, the portion of your measure from me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "because you have forgotten me, and you have trusted in the lie.

¹⁹ O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our ancestors* have inherited only lies,* vanity, and there is no profit in them.

¹³ O Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all those who forsake you will be put to shame, and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded, for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.

⁵ and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their children in the fire, burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded not, and I ordered not, and it did not come to my _⌊mind_⌋.*

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives were making smoke offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, and all the people who lived in the land of Egypt in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹⁶ "Concerning the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! ¹⁷ But certainly we will do _⌊everything_⌋* that went out from our mouths,* to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors,* our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then _⌊we had enough to eat_⌋,* and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster. ¹⁸ But _⌊since_⌋* we stopped making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything, and by the sword and by the famine we have perished. ¹⁹ And indeed, when we were making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and _⌊pouring out_⌋* to her libations, was it not _⌊with the consent of_⌋* our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes _⌊marked with her image_⌋,* and we poured out to her libations?"

²⁵ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You and your wives have promised with your mouths* and with your hands* you have fulfilled, _⌊saying_⌋,* "We certainly will carry out our vows that we vowed, to make smoke offerings to the queen of the heavens,* and to pour out to her libations." You must certainly keep your vows and you must certainly carry out your vows.'

¹³ _⌊I will punish her_⌋* for the days of the Baals, to whom she burns incense, and she decked herself with her ornamental ring and jewelry, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me —a declaration of Yahweh.

² When I called* them, they went from my face.* They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

⁸ But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction;* you have ruined the covenant of Levi," says Yahweh of hosts.

⁶ need not honor his father,'* and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

²¹ It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is weakened.*

³³ And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword behind you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a ruin. ³⁴ Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its lying desolate, and you shall be in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths.

⁴³ And the land shall be deserted by them, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths in its being desolate from them, and they themselves* must pay for their guilt, _⌊simply because_⌋* they rejected my regulations, and their inner self* abhorred my statutes.

⁵⁹ then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring.

²³ 'All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, _⌊none of its land will be sown_⌋,* and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.'

⁸ This house shall become a heap of ruins; all those passing by will be appalled by it and hiss, and they will say, 'On what account did Yahweh do this to this land and to this house?'

²⁰ then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations. ²¹ And as for this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?'

⁷ All who see me mock me. They open wide their lips; they shake the head, saying:

¹⁴ You have made us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.

¹¹ Then I said, "Until when, Lord?"
And he said,
"Until the cities lie wasted without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is ruined and a waste,

²² this is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him:
She shows contempt for you; she derides you, virgin daughter of Zion; she shakes her head behind you, daughter of Jerusalem.

¹¹ And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, _⌊without inhabitants_⌋.*

⁸ And I will make this city a horror, and an object of hissing, everyone who passes by it will be appalled, and will hiss because of all its wounds.

⁹ look, I am going to send and take all the clans* of the north,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will send* to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and _⌊everlasting ruins_⌋.*

¹³ For I have sworn by myself," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "that Bozrah will become as a horror, as a disgrace, as a waste, and as a curse. And all her towns will be _⌊everlasting sites of ruins_⌋."*

¹³ Because of the anger of Yahweh she will not be inhabited, but she will be a wasteland, all of her. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled and will hiss because of all her wounds.

¹⁵ They clap hands over you, all who pass along the way; they hiss and they shake their head, at the daughter of Jerusalem. Is this the city of which it is said, "A perfection of beauty, a joy for all the earth?" ¹⁶ They have opened their mouths against you, all your enemies. They hiss and gnash a tooth, and they say, "We have destroyed her! Surely this is the day we have hoped for; we have found it, we have seen it!"

¹⁴ And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland from the desert to Riblah in all of their dwellings, and they will know that I am Yahweh." '"

¹⁹ And you must say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the land of Israel: "They will eat their food with anxiety and their water they will drink with horror, because their land will be desolate from* its fullness because of all the violence of _⌊those who are dwelling in it_⌋.*

²⁸ And I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland, and the pride of its strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate _⌊with no one traveling through them_⌋." '* ²⁹ And they will know that I am Yahweh when I make my land a desolation and a wasteland, because of all of their detestable things that they have done.

¹⁶ For you have observed the regulations of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab. And you have walked in their counsels, so that I am making you a desolation and your inhabitants an object of scorn. So you will bear the scorn of my people.

³⁹ And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads

²⁹ And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it* in three days,

²⁵ "Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; on one road you shall go _⌊against_⌋* them,* but you will flee on seven roads _⌊before_⌋* them,* and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth.

⁶⁴ And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor* your ancestors,* gods of wood and stone.

¹⁷ And _⌊my anger shall flare up against them_⌋* on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they* shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find* them,* and they* shall say on that day, 'Is it not because our* God is not in our* midst that these disasters have found* us?'*

³⁵ _⌊Vengeance belongs to me_⌋* and also recompense, _⌊for at the time their foot slips_⌋,* because the day of their disaster is near, _⌊and fate comes quickly for them_⌋.'*

¹³ Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. Therefore I will no longer deliver you. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your trouble."

²¹ The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone, and it sweeps him away from his place.

⁷ With an east wind you shatter* the ships of Tarshish.*

²⁵ May your heart not turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her path. ²⁶ For many slain she has laid low, and countless* are all of her killings.

²⁷ Those who say to the tree, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their _⌊backs_⌋* to me, and not their faces. But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Arise and save us.'

²⁴ And I will scatter them like stubble scattered by the wind of the desert.*

³³ And they have turned to me their backs* and not their faces, though _⌊I have taught them over and over again_⌋,* but they were not listening to accept discipline.

²¹ Even her mercenaries in her midst are like calves of fattening, for they also have turned away, they have fled together. They stand not, for the day of their calamity has come, the time of their punishment.

¹⁵ Although he may flourish among reeds,* the east wind will come, a wind of Yahweh rising from the desert; his fountain will dry up, his spring will be parched. It will plunder his treasury,* every object of desire.

¹¹ and to teach the _⌊Israelites_⌋* all the rules that Yahweh has spoken to them _⌊through_⌋* Moses."

³¹ Now David was told, "Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh."

¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came near and slapped Micaiah on the cheek and said, "When did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak with you?"

¹³ He is capturing the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

¹¹ Though they have _⌊plotted_⌋* evil against you, though they have planned a scheme, they will not prevail.

² Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit.

⁴ My soul is among lions. I lie down among those who devour— the children* of humankind whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongues are sharp swords.

³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword. They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

²¹ Death and life are in the _⌊power_⌋* of the tongue, and those who love her* will eat of her fruit.

⁷ And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil devices to ruin the poor with words of deception even* when the speech of the needy is right.

⁸ The priests did not say, 'Where is Yahweh?' and those who handle the law did not know me, and the shepherds have _⌊rebelled against me_⌋,* and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they went after things which do not profit.

¹² "They have denied Yahweh, and have said, 'Not he, _⌊for_⌋* evil will not come on us, we will see neither sword nor famine. ¹³ And the prophets are like wind, and the word is not in them.' Thus it will be done to them."

¹³ Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Look, I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings who sit on David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness. ¹⁴ And I will smash them, each one against his brother, and the fathers and the sons together," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "I will not have compassion, and I will not take pity, and I will not show compassion from destroying them." '"

¹⁴ And Yahweh said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies* in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their _⌊minds_⌋."* ¹⁵ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they are saying, "Sword and famine will not be in this land." "By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish. ¹⁶ And the people to whom they are prophesying will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem _⌊because of_⌋* the famine and the sword. And there will be no one who buries them, their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. And I will pour out on them their wickedness.

¹¹ "So now then, say, please, to the _⌊people_⌋* of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I am preparing evil against you, and I am planning a plan against you. Please turn back, each one from his evil way, and walk rightly in your ways and your deeds." '

¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, _⌊saying_⌋,* "_⌊This man deserves the death sentence_⌋,* because he has prophesied against this city as that which you have heard with your ears."

²⁵ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Because you yourself sent a letter* in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁶ "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron, ²⁷ and so then why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite who exhibits the behavior of a prophet for you? ²⁸ _⌊Because_⌋* he has sent to us in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'It will be a long time, build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit.'" '" ²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of Jeremiah the prophet.

² Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the insolent men spoke,* saying to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! Yahweh our God did not send you, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You must not go to Egypt to dwell as aliens there.'

¹ Woe to those who plan wickedness and evil deeds upon their beds! In the light of the morning they did it, because they have power in their hands. ² They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and they take them away. They oppress a man and his house; a man and his inheritance. ³ Therefore, thus says Yahweh: Look! I am planning disaster against this family from which you will not be able to remove your necks. You will not walk proudly, for it is a time of disaster.

⁷ For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction* from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.

⁴⁵ And one of the legal experts answered and* said to him, "Teacher, when you* say these things, you insult us also!"

⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied to them, "You have not also been deceived, have you?* ⁴⁸ _⌊None_⌋* of the rulers or of the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?* ⁴⁹ But this crowd who does not know the law is accursed!"

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, "We are not also blind, are we?"*

¹⁶ Incline your ears and hear; open, O Yahweh, your eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to insult the living God.

⁴ Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have _⌊provoked the builders to anger_⌋.*

⁹ for all of them sought to frighten us, saying, "their hands will not do the work." And now, God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call to God, and Yahweh will save me. ¹⁷ _⌊Morning, noon and night_⌋* I will lament and groan loudly, and he will hear my voice.

¹ For the music director, according to The Silent Dove of Distant Lands. Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.*
Be gracious to me, O God, because humankind has trampled me; fighting all the day he oppresses me. ² My enemies* trample all day, because many are attacking me proudly. ³ _⌊When_⌋* I fear, I trust you.

¹ For the music director. A psalm of David.*
Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting. Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. ² Hide me from the secret plots* of evildoers, from the unrest of those who do iniquity, ³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword. They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words, ⁴ to shoot from* their* hiding places at the blameless. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

⁴ In return for my love they accuse me, though I am in prayer.*

²⁸ Let them curse, but you bless. When they arise, let them be put to shame, that your servant may be glad.

¹² Yet, O Yahweh of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the _⌊heart_⌋* and the _⌊mind_⌋,* let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have revealed my legal case.

⁸ You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy! When I fall I will stand up; when I sit in darkness Yahweh will be a light for me.

¹¹ But they were filled with fury, and began discussing* with one another what they might do to Jesus. ¹² Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God.

²² And the men turned from there and went toward Sodom. And Abraham was still standing before Yahweh. ²³ And Abraham drew near to Yahweh and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep them away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that* the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" ²⁶ And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." ²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I am dust and ashes. ²⁸ Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five—will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." ²⁹ And _⌊once again he spoke_⌋* to him and said, "What if* forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do it on account of the forty." ³⁰ And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if* thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." ³¹ And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if* twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." ³² And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if* ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."

¹⁷ Then he said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me the good, but I have repaid you the evil. ¹⁸ You have explained to me today that you have dealt well with me, how* Yahweh delivered me into your hand but you did not kill me. ¹⁹ For a man has found his enemy but sent him on his way safely. Now may Yahweh reward you with good in return for this day, for what you have done for me.

²⁷ Even over the orphan you would cast the lot, and you would bargain over your friend.

¹⁵ He makes a pit and digs it out, then falls in the trap he has made.

⁷ For without cause they secretly hide the pit with their net for me; without cause they dug it for my life.

¹² They repay me evil in place of good. It is bereavement to my soul.

²⁰ And those who repay evil in return for good accuse me in return for my pursuing good.

⁶ They have set a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down. They have dug a pit before me; they have fallen into the midst of it. Selah

²³ So he said he would exterminate them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to reverse his wrath from destroying them.

⁴ In return for my love they accuse me, though I am in prayer.* ⁵ So they inflicted evil against me in return for good and hatred in return for my love.

⁹⁵ For me the wicked lie in wait to destroy me. I give attention to your testimonies.

¹³ For he who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

²⁷ He who digs a pit, in it he will fall, and he who rolls a stone, on him it will come back.

⁸ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall, a snake will bite him.

¹⁶ "And you, you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty or a prayer, and you must not plead with me, for I will not hear you.

¹⁴ Therefore you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty, or a prayer, for I will not listen in the time of their calling to me, in the time of their trouble.

⁷ Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh, act for the sake of your name. Yes, our apostasies are many; we have sinned against you. ⁸ You are the hope of Israel, its savior in time of distress. Why should you be like an alien in the land, or like a traveler who spreads out his tent * to spend the night? ⁹ Why should you be like a confused man, like a warrior who is not able to help? Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh, and your name is called upon us. You must not leave us! ¹⁰ Thus says Yahweh concerning this people:
"They have loved so much to wander, they have not spared their feet. Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them, now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins." ¹¹ So Yahweh said to me, "You must not pray for this people, for their happiness.*

²⁰ We know, O Yahweh, our wickedness, the iniquity of our ancestors,* for we have sinned against you.

²² Let a cry for help be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring upon them the raiding band, for they have dug a pit to catch me, and they have fixed secretly a trap for my feet.

³⁰ And so I sought for them somebody, one repairing the wall and standing in the breach _⌊before me_⌋* on behalf of the land not to destroy it, but I did not find anyone, ³¹ and so I poured out my indignation on them. With the fire of my wrath I destroyed them; I returned their way upon their head," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹ And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing _⌊before_⌋* the angel of Yahweh; and Satan* was standing on his right to accuse him. ² But Yahweh said to Satan,* "Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan!* Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?"

³² Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?"

²⁵ But this happened* so that the word that is written in their law would be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a reason.'

²⁴ And _⌊I will become angry_⌋,* and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans.

²⁵ From outside her boundaries the sword will make her childless, and from inside, terror; both for the young man and also the young woman, the infant along with the gray-headed man.

¹⁷ Therefore he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He showed no mercy on a young man, a virgin, the elderly, or decrepit. He delivered all into his hand.

⁹ Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow, ¹⁰ and let his children wander aimlessly and beg, and let them plead from their ruins. ¹¹ Let the creditor seize all that is his, and let strangers plunder his property. ¹² Let there be none who extend to him loyal love, nor any who pities his orphans. ¹³ Let his descendants* be cut off. Let their name be blotted out in the next generation. ¹⁴ Let the iniquity of his ancestors* be remembered before Yahweh, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out. ¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their* memory from the earth, ¹⁶ because he did not remember to show loyal love, but he pursued anyone,* poor or needy or brokenhearted, to slay them. ¹⁷ Because he loved cursing, let it come upon him. Because he did not delight in blessing, let it be far from him. ¹⁸ Because he wore a curse as his robe, let it enter _⌊his body_⌋* like water, and into his bones like oil. ¹⁹ May it be for him like a garment in which he wraps, and a belt _⌊he continually wears_⌋.* ²⁰ Let this be the punishment for my accusers from Yahweh, even those who speak evil against my life.

²¹ For death has come into our windows, it has entered into our fortresses, to cut off the children* from the streets,* the young men from the public squares.

²⁰ But O Yahweh of hosts, who judges in righteousness, who tests the _⌊inmost being_⌋,* and the _⌊mind_⌋,* let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have revealed my legal case. ²¹ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh concerning the people* of Anathoth who seek your life, _⌊saying_⌋,* "You shall not prophesy in the name of Yahweh _⌊or_⌋* you will die by our hand." ²² _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by the famine. ²³ And a remnant will not be left for them, for I will bring disaster to the people* of Anathoth, the year of their punishment."

³ But you, O Yahweh, you know me, you see me, and you test that my heart is with you. Tear them apart like sheep for the slaughtering, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

² _⌊And then_⌋* if they say to you, 'Where shall we go?' Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh,
"Those who are destined for the plague, to the plague, and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword, and those who are destined for the famine, to the famine, and those who are destined for the captivity, to the captivity." ' ³ "And I will summon* over them four types of calamity," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birds* of the air and the wild animals* of the earth to devour and to destroy.

⁸ Their widows* will be more numerous before me than the sand of the seas. I have brought to them, against the mothers* of young men,* a destroyer at noon. I will suddenly drop on her anguish and horror.*

³ For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: ⁴ "They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies* will become food for the birds* of the air, and for the wild animals* of the earth."

¹ Now Pashhur, the son of Immer, the priest who was officer in charge in the temple of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ² Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the temple of Yahweh. ³ _⌊And then_⌋* on the next day, when Pashhur brought Jeremiah out from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "Yahweh will not call your name Pashhur, _⌊but_⌋* Terror From All Around. ⁴ For thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will be seeing it.* And all Judah I will give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon, and he will strike them with the sword. ⁵ And I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious items, and all of the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, and they will seize them, and they will bring them to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all those who live in your house will go into captivity, and you will go to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you, and all your friends to whom you have prophesied _⌊falsely_⌋.*'"

¹¹ But Yahweh is with me like a powerful warrior. _⌊Therefore_⌋* my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. They will be very ashamed, for they will not achieve success. Their _⌊everlasting insult_⌋* will not be forgotten. ¹² Yet, O Yahweh of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the _⌊heart_⌋* and the _⌊mind_⌋,* let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have revealed my legal case.

³ We have become orphans, fatherless, our mothers are like widows.

¹⁰ "I sent among you a plague in the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with the captivity of your horses. And I made the stench of your camps go up into your nostrils, yet you did not return to me," is the declaration of Yahweh.

¹⁴ Alexander the metalworker did me much harm; may the Lord pay back to him according to his deeds,

¹² Those who seek my life lay snares as well, and those intent on my harm speak threats. They also plot deceit all day.

⁵ All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. ⁶ They attack,* they hide, they watch my _⌊steps_⌋,* as they lie in wait for my life. ⁷ Because of iniquity will they escape? In anger cast down the peoples, O God.

⁴ to shoot from* their* hiding places at the blameless. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. ⁵ They encourage themselves in the evil matter. They talk of secretly laying snares. They say, "Who will see them?"

⁵ The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords. They have spread out a net along the _⌊side_⌋* of the path. They have set snares for me. Selah

³⁰ Daughter of Gallim, cry out with your voice; Laishah, listen! _⌊Anathoth is poor_⌋.*

¹ The oracle of the valley of vision:
_⌊What business do you have going_⌋* up, all of you, to the roofs, ² _⌊noisy_⌋,* tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain by the sword, nor are they dead from battle. ³ All of your rulers have fled together without a bow; all of _⌊you who were found_⌋* were captured. They were captured together; they had fled far away. ⁴ Therefore I said,
"Look away from me, let me _⌊weep bitterly_⌋;* you must not insist on comforting me for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

¹⁹ My bowels, my bowels! I writhe! The walls of my heart! My heart is restless within me, I cannot keep silent, for I hear in my inner self the sound of a horn, the alarm of war. ²⁰ Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, for all of the land is devastated. Suddenly my tents are devastated, my tent curtains in a moment.

³¹ For I heard a voice like an ill woman, anxiety like a woman who bears her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion. She is gasping for breath, she is spreading out her hands: "Woe is me, for I am becoming tired* before killers."

²⁶ O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth, and roll about in the ashes in mourning, a mourning ceremony as for an only child. Make for yourself wailing of bitterness, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

²⁰ For hear, O women, the word of Yahweh, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters a lamentation, and each woman her neighbor a lament. ²¹ For death has come into our windows, it has entered into our fortresses, to cut off the children* from the streets,* the young men from the public squares.

²⁰ Should good be repaid in place of evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember my standing _⌊before you_⌋* to speak good for them, to avert your wrath from them.

¹⁰ For I hear the rumor of many, "Terror is from all around, denounce him,* yes, let us denounce him!" _⌊All my close friends_⌋* are watchers of my stumbling, saying, "perhaps he can be persuaded, and we can prevail over him, and we can take our revenge on him."

³⁴ Wail, you shepherds, and cry out. And roll about in mourning in the dust, O leaders* of the flock. For your days of slaughter and your dispersions have arrived, and you will fall like a vessel of desire. ³⁵ And flight will perish from the shepherds, and escape from the leaders* of the flock. ³⁶ A sound, the cry of distress of the shepherds and the wailing of the leaders* of the flock, for Yahweh is despoiling their pasture.

² Thus says Yahweh:
"Look, waters are rising from the north, and they will become as a raging torrent, and they will overflow the land, and that which fills it, the city and those who live in it. And the people will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail, ³ from the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, from the clattering of his chariots,* the noise of their wheels. Fathers do not turn to their children because of the slackness of their hands.

³ The sound of a cry of distress arises from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction. ⁴ Moab is broken, her little ones _⌊make heard_⌋* a cry for help. ⁵ For the ascent of Luhith, in weeping they go weeping, For on the slope of Horonaim they have heard the distresses of the cry of distress of the destruction.

¹⁰ "And there shall be on that day"—a declaration of Yahweh— "a _⌊loud outcry_⌋* from the Fish Gate, and a wailing from the Second District, and a loud* crashing from the hills. ¹¹ The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail, for all the traders have perished; all who trade with silver have been cut off.

¹⁶ a day of trumpet and trumpet blast against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went _⌊and consulted_⌋* so that they could entrap him with a statement.

⁴ Let those who seek my life be shamed and humiliated. Let those who plot calamity against me be repulsed and ashamed.

³² The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to kill him. ³³ Yahweh will not abandon him into his hand, and he will not let him be condemned when he is judged.

⁵ And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations. Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah

²² Let their table before them be a trap, and their times of peace a snare. ²³ Let their eyes be dark so they cannot see, and make their loins continually tremble. ²⁴ Pour out your indignation on them, and let your burning anger overtake them. ²⁵ Let their camp be desolate. Let none dwell in their tents, ²⁶ because they persecute those whom you, yourself, have struck, and they tell of the pain of those you have wounded. ²⁷ _⌊Add guilt on top of their guilt_⌋,* and do not let them _⌊be acquitted_⌋.* ²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be recorded with the righteous.

¹⁴ Let the iniquity of his ancestors* be remembered before Yahweh, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out. ¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their* memory from the earth,

⁹ So humanity is humbled; everyone is humbled, and you must not forgive them.

³ And what will you do at the day of punishment, and at calamity? It comes from afar! To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth,

¹² Were they ashamed, for they had committed a detestable thing? What's worse,* they were not ashamed at all, and they did not know to feel humiliated. _⌊Therefore_⌋* they will fall among those who fall; at the time of their punishment they will stumble," says Yahweh.

¹⁸ Moreover, Yahweh let it be made known to me, and I knew. Then you showed me their deeds. ¹⁹ And I was like a gentle ram-lamb that is brought to slaughter, and I did not know that they planned plans against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered." ²⁰ But O Yahweh of hosts, who judges in righteousness, who tests the _⌊inmost being_⌋,* and the _⌊mind_⌋,* let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have revealed my legal case.

²³ And a remnant will not be left for them, for I will bring disaster to the people* of Anathoth, the year of their punishment."

¹⁵ You who know, O Yahweh, remember me, and attend to me, and take revenge for me against my persecutors _⌊in your forbearance_⌋.* You must take me away. Know that I am carrying disgrace because of you.

²² because these are days of vengeance, so that all the things that are written can be fulfilled.

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,