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JER EM IAH 14
page 679
The people of Judah will be taken away
as captives.
All will be carried into exile.
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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?”
Judah’s Terrible Drought
This message came to Jeremiah from the
Lord, explaining why he was holding
back the rain:
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“Judah wilts;
commerce at the city gates grinds to
a halt.
All the people sit on the ground in
mourning,
and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
The nobles send servants to get water,
but all the wells are dry.
The servants return with empty pitchers,
confused and desperate,
covering their heads in grief.
The ground is parched
and cracked for lack of rain.
The farmers are deeply troubled;
they, too, cover their heads.
13:23 Hebrew a Cushite.
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Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn
because there is no grass in the field.
The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills
panting like thirsty jackals.
They strain their eyes looking for grass,
but there is none to be found.”
The people say, “Our wickedness has caught
up with us, Lord,
but help us for the sake of your own
reputation.
We have turned away from you
and sinned against you again and again.
O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of
trouble,
why are you like a stranger to us?
Why are you like a traveler passing through
the land,
stopping only for the night?
Are you also confused?
Is our champion helpless to save us?
You are right here among us, Lord.
We are known as your people.
Please don’t abandon us now!”
So this is what the Lord says to his people:
“You love to wander far from me
and do not restrain yourselves.
Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my
people.
Now I will remember all your wickedness
and will punish you for your sins.”
The LORD Forbids Jeremiah to Intercede
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for
these people anymore. 12 When they fast, I will
pay no attention. When they present their burnt
offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not
accept them. Instead, I will devour them with
war, famine, and disease.”
13 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their
prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war
or famine will come. The Lord will surely send
you peace.’”
14 Then the Lord said, “These prophets are
telling lies in my name. I did not send them
or tell them to speak. I did not give them any
messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak
foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will
punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them.
They say that no war or famine will come, but
they themselves will die by war and famine! 16 As
for the people to whom they prophesy—their
bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will
be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives,
sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will
pour out their own wickedness on them. 17 Now,
Jeremiah, say this to them: