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JER EM IAH 12
page 677
covenant! 4 For I said to your ancestors when I
brought them out of the iron-smelting furnace
of Egypt, “If you obey me and do whatever I
command you, then you will be my people, and
I will be your God.” 5 I said this so I could keep
my promise to your ancestors to give you a land
flowing with milk and honey—the land you live
in today.’”
Then I replied, “Amen, Lord! May it be so.”
6 Then the Lord said, “Broadcast this message in the streets of Jerusalem. Go from town
to town throughout the land and say, ‘Remember the ancient covenant, and do everything it
requires. 7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors
when I brought them out of Egypt, “Obey me!”
I have repeated this warning over and over to
this day, 8 but your ancestors did not listen or
even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly
followed their own evil desires. And because
they refused to obey, I brought upon them all
the curses described in this covenant.’”
9 Again the Lord spoke to me and said,
“I have discovered a conspiracy against me
among the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors. They have refused to listen to me and are
worshiping other gods. Israel and Judah have
both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I am going to bring calamity upon them, and
they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy,
I will not listen to their cries. 12 Then the people
of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols
and burn incense before them. But the idols
will not save them when disaster strikes! 13 Look
now, people of Judah; you have as many gods
as you have towns. You have as many altars of
shame—altars for burning incense to your god
Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem.
14 “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah.
Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen
to them when they cry out to me in distress.
15
16
“What right do my beloved people have to
come to my Temple,
when they have done so many immoral
things?
Can their vows and sacrifices prevent their
destruction?
They actually rejoice in doing evil!
I, the Lord, once called them a thriving
olive tree,
beautiful to see and full of good fruit.
But now I have sent the fury of their enemies
to burn them with fire,
leaving them charred and broken.
17 “I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who
planted this olive tree, have ordered it destroyed.
For the people of Israel and Judah have done evil,
arousing my anger by burning incense to Baal.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then the Lord told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. 19 I was like a
lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea
that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said.
“Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.”
20
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
you make righteous judgments,
and you examine the deepest thoughts
and secrets.
Let me see your vengeance against them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
21 This is what the Lord says about the men
of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had
said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the Lord’s name.” 22 So this is what
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says about them:
“I will punish them! Their young men will die
in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to
death. 23 Not one of these plotters from Anathoth
will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them
when their time of punishment comes.”
Jeremiah Questions the LORD’s Justice
1 Lord, you always give me justice
when I bring a case before you.
So let me bring you this complaint:
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why are evil people so happy?
2 You have planted them,
and they have taken root and prospered.
Your name is on their lips,
but you are far from their hearts.
3 But as for me, Lord, you know my heart.
You see me and test my thoughts.
Drag these people away like sheep to be
butchered!
Set them aside to be slaughtered!
12
4
How long must this land mourn?
Even the grass in the fields has withered.
The wild animals and birds have
disappeared
because of the evil in the land.
For the people have said,
“The Lord doesn’t see what’s ahead
for us!”
The LORD’s Reply to Jeremiah
5 “If racing against mere men makes you tired,
how will you race against horses?
If you stumble and fall on open ground,
what will you do in the thickets near the
Jordan?
6 Even your brothers, members of your own
family,
have turned against you.
They plot and raise complaints against
you.