1 These are the messages of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the son of a man named Hilkiah. Jeremiah belonged to the family of priests that lived in the city of Anathoth.* That city is in the land that belongs to the family group of Benjamin. ²The Lord began to speak to Jeremiah during the days when Josiah was king of the nation of Judah. Josiah was the son of a man named Amon. The Lord began to speak to Jeremiah in the 13th year that Josiah was king.* ³The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Jehoiakim was king of Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah during the eleven years and five months that Zedekiah was king of Judah. Zedekiah was also a son of Josiah. In the fifth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king, the people that lived in Jerusalem were taken away into exile.

God Calls Jeremiah

⁴The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah. This message was from the Lord: ⁵“Before I made you in your mother’s body, I knew you. Before you were born, I chose you for a special work. I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.” ⁶Then Jeremiah said, “But Lord All- Powerful, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.” ⁷But the Lord said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you. You must say everything I tell you to say. ⁸Don’t be afraid of anyone. I am with you, and I will protect you.” This message is from the Lord. ⁹Then the Lord reached out with his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, I am putting my words in your mouth. ¹⁰Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms. You will pull up and tear down. You will destroy and overthrow. You will build up and plant.”

Two Visions

¹¹The Lord’s message came to me. This message was from the Lord: “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I answered the Lord and said, “I see a stick made from almond wood.” ¹²The Lord said to me, “You have seen very well. And I am watching* to make sure that my message to you comes true.” ¹³The Lord’s message came to me again. This was the Lord’s message: “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I answered the Lord and said, “I see a pot of boiling water. That pot is tipping over from the north.” ¹⁴The Lord said to me, “Something terrible will come from the north. It will happen to all the people that live in this country. ¹⁵In a short time I will call all of the people in the northern kingdoms.” The Lord said those things. “The kings of those countries will come and set up their thrones near the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack the city walls of Jerusalem. They will attack all the cities in Judah. ¹⁶And I will announce my judgment against my people. I will do this because they are bad people and they have turned against me. My people left me. They offered sacrifices to other gods. They worshiped idols that they had made with their own hands. ¹⁷“As for you, Jeremiah, get ready. Stand up and speak to the people. Tell them everything that I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of the people. If you are afraid of the people, then I will give you good reason to be afraid of them. ¹⁸As for me, today I will make you like a strong city, an iron column, a bronze wall. You will be able to stand against everyone in the land, against the kings of the land of Judah, against the leaders of Judah, against the priests of Judah, and against the people of the land of Judah. ¹⁹All those people will fight against you, but they will not defeat you. Why? Because I am with you, and I will save you.” This message is from the Lord.

priests that lived in the city of Anathoth These priests probably belonged to the family of the priest Abiathar. Abiathar was a high priest in Jerusalem during the time David was king. He was sent away to Anathoth by King Solomon. See 1 Kings 2:26. 13th year that Josiah was king That is 627 B.C. watching This is a word play. “Shaqed” is the Hebrew word for “almond wood,” and “shoqed” means “watching.”

Judah Was Not Faithful

2 The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah. This message was from the Lord: ²“Jeremiah, go and speak to the people of Jerusalem. Say to them: “‘At the time you were a young nation, you were faithful to me. You followed me like a young bride. You followed me through the desert, through a land that had never been used for farm land. ³The people of Israel were a holy gift to the Lord. They were the first fruit to be gathered by the Lord. Any people that tried to hurt them were judged guilty. Bad things happened to those wicked people.’” This message was from the Lord. ⁴Family of Jacob, hear the Lord’s message. Family groups of Israel, hear the message. ⁵This is what the Lord says: “Do you think that I was not fair to your ancestors*? Is that why they turned away from me? Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols, and they became worthless themselves. ⁶Your ancestors did not say, ‘The Lord brought us from Egypt. The Lord led us through the desert. The Lord led us through a dry and rocky land. The Lord led us through a dark and dangerous land. No people live there. People don’t even travel through that land. But the Lord led us through that land. So where is the Lord now?’ ⁷{The Lord says,} “I brought you into a good land, a land filled with many good things. I did this so you could eat the fruit and crops that grow there. But you only made my land ‘dirty.’ I gave that land to you, but you made it a bad place. ⁸“The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The people that know the law did not want to know me. The leaders of the people of Israel turned against me. The prophets prophesied* in the name of the false god Baal.* They worshiped worthless idols.” ⁹The Lord says, “So now I will accuse you again, and I will also accuse your grandchildren. ¹⁰Go across the sea to the Islands of Kittim.* Send someone to the land of Kedar.* Look very carefully. See if any person has ever done something like this. ¹¹Has any nation ever stopped worshiping their old gods so they could worship new gods? No! And their gods are not really gods at all! But my people stopped worshiping their glorious God and started worshiping idols that are worth nothing. ¹²“Skies, be shocked at the things that have happened! Shake with great fear!” This message was from the Lord. ¹³“My people have done two evil things. They turned away from me (I am the spring of living water), and they dug their own water cisterns. (They turned to other gods.) But their cisterns are broken. Those cisterns can’t hold water. ¹⁴“Have the people of Israel become slaves? Have they become like a person that was born a slave? Why did people take the wealth from the people of Israel? ¹⁵Young lions’ (enemies) roar at Israel. The lions growl. Lions have destroyed the land of Israel. The cities of Israel have been burned. There are no people left in them. ¹⁶People from Memphis and Tahpanhes* have smashed the top of your head. ¹⁷This trouble is your own fault! The Lord your God was leading you the right way,* but you turned away from him. ¹⁸People of Judah, think about this: Did it help to go to Egypt? Did it help to drink from the Nile River? No! Did it help to go to Assyria? Did it help to drink from the Euphrates River? No! ¹⁹You did bad things, and those bad things will only bring punishment to you. Trouble will come to you. And that trouble will teach you a lesson. Think about it! Then you will understand how bad it is to turn away from your God. It is wrong not to fear and respect me!” This message was from my Master, the Lord All-Powerful. ²⁰“Judah, a long time ago you threw off your yoke. You broke the ropes {that I used to control you}. You said to me, ‘I will not serve you!’ You were like a prostitute on every high hill and under every green tree.* ²¹Judah, I planted you like a special vine. All of you were like good seed. How did you turn into a different vine that grows bad fruit? ²²Even if you wash yourself with lye,* even if you use much soap, I can still see your guilt.” This message was from the Lord God. ²³“Judah, how can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty; I have not worshiped the Baal* idols’? Think about the things you did in the valley. Think about what you have done. You are like a fast she-camel that runs from place to place. ²⁴You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert. At mating time, she sniffs (smells) the wind. No person can bring her back at the time she is in heat. At mating time, every male that wants her will get her. It is easy to find her. ²⁵Judah, stop chasing after idols! Stop being thirsty for those other gods. But you say, ‘It is no use! I can’t quit! I love those other gods. I want to worship them.’ ²⁶“A thief is ashamed when people catch him. In the same way, the people of Israel are ashamed, the kings and leaders are ashamed, and the priests and prophets are ashamed. ²⁷Those people talk to pieces of wood! They say, ‘You are my father.’ Those people speak to a rock. They say, ‘You gave birth to me.’ All those people will be ashamed. Those people don’t look at me. They have turned their backs to me. But when the people of Judah get into trouble, they say to me, ‘Come and save us!’ ²⁸Let those idols come and save you! Where are the idols that you have made for yourselves? Let’s see if those idols come and save you when you are in trouble. Judah, you have as many idols as cities! ²⁹“Why do you argue with me? All of you have turned against me.” This message was from the Lord. ³⁰“I punished you people of Judah, but it did not help. You did not come back when you were punished. You killed with your swords the prophets that came to you. You were like a dangerous lion and you killed the prophets.” ³¹People of this generation, pay attention to the Lord’s message! “Have I been like a desert to the people of Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to them? My people say, ‘We are free to go our own way. We will not come back to you, Lord!’ Why do they say those things? ³²A young woman doesn’t forget her jewelry. A bride doesn’t forget the sash for her dress. But my people have forgotten me too many times to count. ³³“Judah, you really know how to chase after lovers (false gods). You have really learned to do evil things. ³⁴You have blood on your hands! It is the blood of the poor, innocent people. You did not catch those people breaking into your house! You killed them for no reason! ³⁵But still, you say, ‘I am innocent. God is not angry with me.’ So I will also judge you guilty {of lying}. Why? Because you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’ ³⁶It is so easy for you to change your mind. Assyria disappointed you, {so you left Assyria and went to Egypt for help.} But Egypt will also disappoint you. ³⁷So you will eventually leave Egypt, too. And you will hide your face in shame. You trusted those countries. But the Lord rejected those countries, so they can’t help you win.

ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. prophesied Or, “spoke.” Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land produce good crops. Islands of Kittim The name means the Island of Cyprus. But the name was often used for the other islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea. Kedar This was the name of an Arabian family group that lived in the desert to the east of Palestine. Memphis and Tahpanhes Two cities in Egypt. was leading … way This line is not in the Greek translation. prostitute … green tree This means the people worshiped their false gods in these places. lye A chemical that is used like soap. Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land produce good crops.