JEREMIAH that Hananiah the son of Azzur the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying: 2<Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: I have broken the yoke of the Jang of Babylon. 3Within two full years will I bring back into this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon; 4and I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went to Babylon, saith the LORD; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.' ^Then the prophet Jere- miah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, 6even the prophet Jeremiah said: 'Amen! the LORD do sol the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD'S house, and all them that are carried away captive, from Babylon unto this place! Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people: 8The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence, ^he prophet that proph- esieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him/ 10Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jere- miah's neck, and broke it. uAnd Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying: 'Thus saith the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years.' And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying: 13fGo, and tell Hananiah, saying: Thus saith the LORD: Thou hast broken the bars of wood; but thou shalt make in their stead bars of iron. 14For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him; and I have given him the beasts of the field also.' 15Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet: 'Hear now, Hananiah: the LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. 16Therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will send thee away from off the face of the earth; this year thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken perversion against the LORD.' 17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
O Q Now these are the words of the ^ u letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchad- nezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen- mother, and the officers, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem; 8by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent JEREMIAH unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying: *Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon: BBuild ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Hake ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. 7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away cap- tive, and pray unto the LORD for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, beguile you, neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9For they prophesy falsely unto you in My name; I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
10For thus saith the LORD: After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will remember you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. nFor I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ^And ye shall call upon Me, and go, and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek Me, and tod Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. 14And I will be found of you, saith the LORD, and I will turn your cap- tivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you back unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 15For ye have said: 'The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.^ 16For thus saith the LORD concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17thus saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send upou them the sword, the famine, and the pes- tilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and an aston- ishment, and a hissing, and a re- proach, among all the nations whither I have driven them; "because they have not hearkened to My words, saith the LORD, wherewith I sent unto them My servants the prophets, send- ing them betimes and often; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. 20Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and con- cerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie unto you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; ^and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah that are in Babylon, saying: 'The LORD make thee like ZedeMali and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire'; ^because they have wrought vile deeds in JEREMIAH Israel, and "have committed adultery with their neighbours1 wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I commanded them not; but I am He that knoweth, and am witness, saith the LoRp.
MAnd concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak, saying 2SThus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying' Because thou hast sent letters in thine own name unto all the people that are at Jeru- salem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying: 26<The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of the XORD for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in the collar. 27Now therefore, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who maketh himself a prophet to you, 28forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon, saying. The captivity is long; build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them?' 29And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying: 81Send to all them of the captivity, saying: Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite • Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie; ^therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto My people, saith the LORD; because, he hath spoken perversion against the LORD.
0 A The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2<Thus speaketh the LORD, the God of Israel, saying: Write thee all the words that 1 have spoken unto thee in a book 3For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will turn the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD; and I will cause them to re- turn to the land.that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.7 4 And these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5For thus saith the LORD: We have heard a voice of trem- bling, Of fear, and not of peace.
6Ask ye now, and see Whether a man doth travail with child; Wherefore do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, And all faces are turned into pale- ness?
7Alas! for that day is great, So that none is like it, And it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, But out of it shall he be saved.
8And it shall come to pass in that day, Saith the LORD of hosts, That I will break his yoke from off thy neck, And will burst thy bands; And strangers shall no more make him their bondman; 9But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their long, Whom I will raise up unto them.
"Therefore fear thou not, 0 Jacob My servant, saith the LORD; JEREMIAH Neither be dismayed, 0 Israel; For, lo, I will save thee from afar, And thy seed from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall again be quiet and at ease, And none shall make him afraid. nFor I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee; For I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, But I will not make a full end of thee; For I will correct thee in measure, And will not utterly destroy thee.
12For thus saith the LORD: Thy hurt is incurable, And thy wound is grievous. 13None oTeemeth of thy wound that it may be bound up; Thou hast no healing medicines. L4A11 thy lovers have forgotten thee, They seek thee not; For I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one; For the greatness of thine iniquity, Because thy sins were increased. r>Why criest thou for thy hurt, That thy pain is incurable? For the greatness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. "Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured, And all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into cap- tivity; And they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, And all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
17For I will restore health unto thee, And I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LOED;' Because they have called thee an outcast* 'She is aZion, there is none that careth for her.'
18Thus saith the LORD- Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob's tents, And have compassion on his dwell- ing-places;* And the city shall be builded upon her own mound, And the palace shall be inhabited upon its wonted place. 19And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of them that make merry; And I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished, I will also increase them, and they shall not dwindle away. 20Their children also shall be as aforetime, And their congregation shall be established before Me, And I will punish all that oppress them.
21And their prince shall be of them- selves, And their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; And I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto Me; For who is he that hath pledged his heart To approach unto Me? saith the LORD.
MAnd ye shall be My people, And I will be your God.
^Behold, a storm of the LORD is gone forth in fury, A sweeping storm; It shall whirl upon the head of the wicked.
* With a play on the meaning, a dry land.
JEREMIAH fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, Until He have executed, and till He have performed The purposes of His heart; In the end of days ye shall consider it.
o -| At that time, saith the LORD, OJ- Will I be the God of all the families of Israel, And they shall be My people.
2Thus saith the LORD: The people that were left of the sword Have found grace in the wilderness, Even Israel, when I go to cause him to rest. 3<From afar the LORD appeared unto me/ 'Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; Therefore with affection have drawn thee. 4Agam will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel; Again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, And shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant, and shall have the use thereof. 6For there shall be a day, That the watchmen shall call upon the mount Ephraim* Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, Unto the LORD our God.'
Tor thus saith the LORD: Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout at the head of the na- tions; Announce ye, praise ye, and say: *O LORD, save Thy people, The remnant of Israel ' 8Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the utter- most parts of the earth, And with them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and her that travaileth with child together; A great company shall they return hither.
9They shall come with weeping, And with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, In a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; For I am become a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My first-born.
10Hear the word of the LORD, 0 ye nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say: 'He that scattered Israel doth gather him, And keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.'
uFor the LORD hath ransomed Jacob, And He redeemeth him from the hand of him that is stronger than he.
12And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, And shall flow unto the goodness of the LORD, To the corn, and to the wine, and to the oil, And to the young of the flock and of the herd; And their soul shall be as a watered garden, And they shall not pine any more at all.
uThen shall the virgin rejoice in- the dance, JEREMIAH And the young men and the old together; For I will turn their mourning into And will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, Saith the LORD.
5Thus saith the LORD: A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; She refuseth to be comforted for her children, Because they are not.
saith the LORD- Refrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears; For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; And they shall come back from the . land of the enemy.
7And there is hope for thy future, saith the LORD; And thy children shall return to their own border.
8I have surely heard Ephraim be- moaning himself: 'Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, As a calf untrained; Turn thou me/ and I shall be turned, For Thou art the LORD my God.
9Surely after that I was turned, I repented, And after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, yea, even confound- ed, Because I did bear the reproach of my youth.'
°Is Ephraim a darling son unto Me?
Is he a child that is dandled? For as often as I speak of him, I do earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearneth for him, I will surely have compassion upon him, saith the LORD.
^Set thee up waymarks, Set thy heart toward the highway, Even the way by which thou wentest; Return, 0 virgin of Israel, Return to these thy cities. ^How long wilt thou turn away coyly, 0 thou backsliding daughter? For the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth: A woman shall court a man., 23Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Yet again shall they use this speech In the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, When I shall turn their captivity: 'The LORD bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, 0 mountain of holiness.' ^And Judah and all the cities thereof Shall dwell therein together: The husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.
^For I have satiated the weary soul, And every pining soul have I replenished.
26Upon this I awaked, and beheld; And my sleep was sweet unto me.
27Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28And it shall feome -to pass, JEREMIAH that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, and to overthrow and to destroy, and to afflict; so will J watch over them to build and to plant, saith the LORD. 29In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
30But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new cove- nant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; ^not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD ^But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LOBD, I will put My law in their inward garts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; wand they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying. 'Know the LORD'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the great- est of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
36Thus saith the LORD, Who giveth the sun for a light by day, And the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, Who stirreth up the sea, that the w&ves thereof roar, The LORD of hosts is His name 36If these ordinances depart fron before Me, Saith the LORD, Then the seed of Israel also shal cease From being a nation before M< for ever.
37Thus saith the LORD: If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the eartl searched out beneath, Then will I also cast off all the seec of Israel For all that they have done, saitt the LORD.
38Behoid, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built tc the LORD from the tower of Hanane unto the gate of the corner. '39And the measuring line shall yet go ou1 straight forward unto the hill Gareb and shall turn about unto Goah 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
QO The word that came to Jere- miah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebu- chadrezzar. 2Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's louse. 3For Zedekiah king of Judah lad shut him up, saying: 'Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say: Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will give ihis city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; *and JEREMIAH Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chal- deans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 6and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I remember him, saith the LORD; though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?'
6And Jeremiah said: 'The word of the LORD came unto me, saying: 7Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum thine uncle, shall come unto thee, saying: Buy thee my field that is in Ana- thpth; for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.' 8So Hanamel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me: 'Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Ana- thoth, which is in the land of Benja- min; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it- for thyself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9And I bought the field that was in Ana- thoth of Hanamel mine uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed 'him the money in the balances. uSo I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open; ^and I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle['s son], and in the presence of the witnesses that 'subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard. wAnd I charged Baruch before them, saying: 14'Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, both that which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may con- tinue many days. 15For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.' I6Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying: '17'Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy outstretched arm; there is noth- ing too hard for Thee; 18who showest mercy unto thousands, and recom- pensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, the LORD of hosts is His name; 19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the "sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; 20who didst set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel and among other men; and madest Thee a name, as at this day; aand didst bring forth Thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ^and gavest them this land, which Thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; ^and they came in, and possessed it; but they heark- ened not to Thy voice, neither walked in Thy law; they have done nothing of all that Thou commandedst them to do; therefore Thou hast caused all this evil to befall them; ^behold the mounds, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into JEREMIAH the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and •of the famine, and of the pestilence; .and what Thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, Thou seest it. 25Yet Thou hast said unto me, 0 Lord GOD: Buy thee the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.7 26Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, sa; am the LORD, the 27< Behold, I of all flesh; is there any thing too hard for Me? 28Therefore thus saith the LORD: Be- hold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 29and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke Me. 30For the chil- dren of Israel and the chilolren of Judah have only done that which was evil in My sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only pro- voked Me with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31For this city hath been to Me a provocation of Mine anger and of My fury from the day that they built it even unto this day, that I should remove it from before My face; 32because of all the evil of vthe children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33And they have turned unto Me the back, and not the face; and though I taught them, teaching them betimes and often, yet they have not hearkened to receive, instruction. ^But they set their abominations in the house where- upon My name is called, to defile it. 35And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to set apart their sons and their daughters unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My mind, that they should do this abomination; to cause Judah to sin. 36And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concern- ing this city, whereof ye say: It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: 37Be- hold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath ^ and I will bring them back unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely; 38and they shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me for ever; for the good of them, and of their children after them; 40and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.
I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land in truth with My whole heart and with My whole soul. ^ LORD: Like as I thus saith the have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. 43And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say: It is desolate, with- out man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. ^Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in JEREMIAH the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the Lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their cap- tivity to return, saith the LORD.' Q O Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying: *Thus saith the LORD the Maker thereof, The LORD that formed it to estab- lish it, The LORD is Has name: *Call unto Me, and I will answer thee,