Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 251
16:12–17:3
J eremiah
239
abandoned me and did not obey my word. And you are even worse than
your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to
listen to me. So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign
land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can wor
ship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’
“But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people who are taking
an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the
people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely
as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own
land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he
had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their
ancestors.
“But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says
the Lord. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the
mountains, hills, and caves. I am watching them closely, and I see every
sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. I will double their punishment
for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of
their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.”
Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
my refuge in the day of trouble!
Nations from around the world
will come to you and say,
“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
for they worshiped worthless idols.
Can people make their own gods?
These are not real gods at all!”
The Lord says,
“Now I will show them my power;
now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand
that I am the Lord.
“The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
So I will hand over my holy mountain—
