Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 245
13:20–14:2
J eremiah
233
The people of Judah will be taken away as captives.
All will be carried into exile.
Open up your eyes and see
the armies marching down from the north!
Where is your flock—
your beautiful flock—
that he gave you to care for?
What will you say when the Lord takes the allies you have cultivated
and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
like those of a woman in labor!
You may ask yourself,
“Why is all this happening to me?”
It is because of your many sins!
That is why you have been stripped
and raped by invading armies.
Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
“I will scatter you like chaff
that is blown away by the desert winds.
This is your allotment,
the portion I have assigned to you,”
says the Lord,
“for you have forgotten me,
putting your trust in false gods.
I myself will strip you
and expose you to shame.
I have seen your adultery and lust,
and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
How long before you are pure?”
This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was
holding back the rain:
“Judah wilts;
commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt.
