The True GOD.

Listen to the word that THE LORD addresses to
you, O house of Israel. Thus says THE LORD:

       Do not adopt the ways of the nations
          or become frightened at the signs in the
              heavens,
          even though the nations are terrified of
              them.
       For the carved images of the nations are
              powerless;
          they are nothing more than wood cut from a
              forest,
       fashioned with a knife by craftsmen
          and embellished with silver and gold.
       Then they are fastened with hammers and
              nails
          to prevent them from toppling.

       Like scarecrows in a cucumber field
          they are unable to speak,
       and they must be carried from place to place
          since they cannot walk.
       Do not be afraid of them,
          for they can do no harm,
          nor do they have any power to do good.

       O LORD, there is no one like YOU;
          YOU are great,
          and great is the might of YOUR name.
       Who would not fear YOU,
          O KING OF THE NATIONS?
          This is YOUR due.
       Of all the wisest men in the nations
          and throughout all their kingdoms,
          there is no one like YOU.

       They are all senseless and foolish,
          and the idols they venerate are nothing but
              wood,
       adorned with beaten silver from Tarshish
          and gold from Ophir.
       Their idols are the work of craftsmen and
              goldsmiths
          and clothed with violet and purple;
          all of them are the product of skilled
              workers.
       But THE LORD is THE TRUE GOD;
          HE is THE LIVING GOD and THE
              EVERLASTING KING.
       When confronted with HIS wrath the earth
              quakes,
          and no nation can endure HIS fury.

       Convey this message to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

       THE LORD made the earth by HIS power,
          established the world by HIS wisdom
          and spread out the heavens by HIS
              understanding.
       When HIS voice thunders forth,
          the waters in the heavens are in tumult,
       and HE brings forth clouds
          from the most remote areas of the earth.
       HE causes lightning to flash during the
              rainfall
          and brings forth the wind from HIS
              storehouses.

       Everyone is ignorant and devoid of
              knowledge;
          every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
       for the figures he molds are fraudulent,
          lacking even a semblance of breath.
       They are worthless, worthy only of mockery;
          when the time of judgment comes
          they will no longer exist.
       But not like these is THE PORTION OF
              JACOB,
          for HE is THE MAKER OF ALL THINGS,
       and Israel is the tribe of HIS heritage;
          THE LORD OF HOSTS is HIS name.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 10, VERSES 1 - 16

Destruction of Judah

       Gather up your belongings and depart from
              the land,

          you who are living under siege.

       For thus says THE LORD:

          This time I am determined to cast out

          the inhabitants of this land,

       and I will inflict such distress on them

          that they will find it difficult to bear.

       I face disaster because of my injuries.

          My wounds are incurable.

       However, I thought, "This is my punishment,

          and somehow I must endure it."

       My tent has been destroyed,

          and all of its ropes are severed.

       My children have left me,

          and they are no more.

       No one remains to help me pitch my tent

              again

          or to put up its curtains.

       The shepherds have proved to be stupid;

          they failed to search for THE LORD.

       As a result, they have not prospered,

          and their entire flock is scattered.

       Listen! There is a tremendous noise,

          and it comes ever closer;

          a great uproar from the land of the north;

       the towns of Judah will be reduced to a desert

          and become a lair for jackals.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 10, VERSES 17 - 22

Jeremiah's Prayer

       I am finally aware, O LORD,

          that man is not in control of his destiny

       and that it is not in his power

          to determine the course of his life.

       Correct me, O LORD,

          but do so with moderation,

       and not in YOUR anger,

          or YOU will reduce me to nothing.

       Pour forth YOUR wrath on the nations

          that refuse to acknowledge YOU,

       as well as on the tribes

          that refuse to invoke YOUR name.

       For they have devoured Jacob;

          they have devoured and made an end of him

          and laid waste his homeland.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 10, VERSES 23 - 25

Plea to Observe the Covenant.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from THE LORD: Listen to the terms of this covenant, and then relate them to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Say to them: Thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: Cursed be anyone who does not observe the terms of this covenant which I enjoined upon your ancestors when I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, from that iron foundry, saying: If you listen to MY voice and do everything I command you, then you will be MY people, and I will be your GOD. I will thus fulfill the oath that I swore to your ancestors, when I pledged to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the land you now possess. Then I answered, "So be it, LORD."
       Then THE LORD said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and follow them. When I brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt, I solemnly warned them, and continued even to this day to do so persistently, urging them to obey MY commands. But they refused to listen and did not pay attention to what I said. Rather, each one followed the inclinations of his stubborn and wicked heart. As a result, I inflicted upon them all the curses I had threatened if they did not obey the covenant in accordance with MY commands.
       Then THE LORD said to me: There is clearly a conspiracy that exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have reverted back to the sins of their ancestors who refused to heed MY words. They are following strange gods and serving them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors.
       Therefore, thus says THE LORD, I will inflict upon them a disaster that they will not be able to escape. Even should they cry out to ME, I will refuse to listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem will go forth and cry out for help to the gods to whom they make offerings, but these gods will be of absolutely no help to them when disaster strikes.

       For you have as many gods
          as you have towns, O Judah.
       And you have as many altars to offer sacrifice
              to Baal
          as there are streets in Jerusalem.

       Do not intercede for this people or offer a prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen to their cries for help that they will raise during the time of their misfortune.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 11, VERSES 1 - 14

THE LORD Rebukes Judah

        What right does MY beloved have to be in MY
              house
          when she perpetrates such vile deeds?
       Can vows and sacrificial meat
          turn away the disaster that threatens you
          and allow you to exult?
       THE LORD once called you a green olive tree
          that was filled with leaves and fruit.
       But now, with the roar of a mighty storm,
          HE will set it ablaze,
          and its branches will be consumed.

       THE LORD OF HOSTS who planted you has decreed that misfortune wil befall you because of the evil done by the house of Israel and the house of Judah, having provoked ME to anger by offering sacrifices to Baal.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 11, VERSES 15 - 17

Jeremiah's Persecution

        I was aware of this, O LORD,
          because YOU had made it know to me
          then YOU revealed to me their evil deeds.
       I had been like a trusting lamb
          that was being led to the slaughter.
       And I was not aware about the schemes
          that they were plotting against me, saying,
       "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
          let us cut him off from the land of the living
          so that his name will no longer be
              remembered."
       O LORD OF HOSTS, YOU who judge
              righteously
          and test the heart and the mind,
       allow me to behold YOUR vengeance on
              them,
          for to YOU I have committed my cause.

       Therefore, in regard to the people of Anathoth who are determined to end my life and who say, "Do not prophesy in the name of THE LORD or we will kill you," this is what THE LORD has to say, "I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, and their sons and daughters will perish by famine. Not a single one of them will survive. For in the year of reckoning for them, I will bring disaster upon the people of Anathoth."

       YOU are always in the right, O LORD,
          whenever I take a position that conflicts
              with YOURS;
          nevertheless, let me plead my case before
              YOU.
       
       Why does it happen that the wicked prosper
          and that treacherous people thrive?
       When YOU planted them, they took root,
          flourished, and brought forth fruit.
       YOUR name is always on their lips,
          but YOU are far from their hearts.

       YOU know me, O LORD, and YOU see me;
          YOU are aware that my heart is devoted to
              YOU.
       Drag off the wicked like
          sheep for a sacrifice;
          set them apart for the day of slaughter.
       For how long a period must the land be in
              mourning
          and the green grass wither throughout the
              countryside?
       The animals and the birds are perishing
          because of the wickedness of those who
              dwell there
          and assert that GOD is not concerned about
              them.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 11, VERSES 18 - 23 & CHAPTER 12, VERSES 1 - 6

GOD's Response

        If you become exhausted in a footrace with
              men,
          how will you compete with horses?
       And if you fall headlong in a peaceful land,
          how will you fare in the thickets of the
              Jordan?
       Even your brothers and your own family
          continue to deal treacherously with you
          as they pursue you while shouting threats.
       Do not trust them
          even when they speak gentle words to you.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 12, VERSES 5 & 6

THE LORD's Lament

       I have abandoned MY house

          and forsaken MY heritage.

       I have given the beloved of MY heart

          into the hands of her enemies.

       MY own people have become to ME

          like a lion in the forest;

       they have threatened ME incessantly,

          and therefore, I despise them.

       Why has MY land become a lair for hyenas,

          with birds of prey hovering on every side?

       Go forth and gather all the wild beasts

          so that they may assemble for the feast.

       MY shepherds have ravaged MY vineyard

          and trampled MY heritage underfoot.

       They have made the plot of land that is MY

              delight

          into a desolate wilderness.

       They have made it into a wasteland,

          the sight of which causes ME to mourn.

       The entire land has become desolate,

          and no one shows the slightest bit of

              concern.

       Upon all the barren heights of the desert

          those who wreak destruction have arrived.

       For THE LORD will wield a devouring sword

          from one end of the land to the other;

          no living thing will remain unscathed.

       Men have sown wheat only to reap thorns;

          they have worked to the point of exhaustion

          but have profited nothing.

       Their harvests are a source of disappointment

          because of the fierce anger of THE LORD.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 12, VERSES 7 - 13

Judah's Evil Neighbors.

       Thus says THE LORD, "As for all MY evil neighbors who have seized the inheritance I gave to MY people Israel, I will uproot them from their land, and from among them I will uproot the house of Judah. But after I uproot them, I will again take pity on them and bring them back, each one to his own heritage and his own land.

       "Then, if they carefully adhere to the ways of MY people and swear by MY name, saying, 'As THE LORD lives,' just as previously they taught MY people to swear by Baal, then they will be reestablished among MY people. But if any nation refuses to listen, I will uproot that nation and destroy it completely," says THE LORD.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 12, VERSES 14 - 17

Warnings to Judah.

THE LORD said to me: Go forth and purchase for yourself a loincloth. Wrap it around your loins, but do not dip it in water. I purchased the loincloth as instructed by THE LORD and wrapped it around my loins.

       Then THE LORD spoke to me a second time, saying: Take the loincloth that you purchased and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates and conceal it there in a cleft of the rock. So I went to the Euphrates and hid it as THE LORD had commanded me.

       After a long period of time, THE LORD said to me: Go now to the Euphrates and retrieve the loincloth that I instructed you to hide there. And so I returned to the Euphrates and searched for the cleft, and I then retrieved the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But the loincloth had now rotted and was good for nothing.

       Then the word of THE LORD came to me: Thus says THE LORD: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the enormous pride of Jerusalem. Because these wicked people refuse to listen to MY words and stubbornly follow their own inclinations as they run after other gods to serve them and worship them, they will become like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. For just as a loincloth clings to a man's loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says THE LORD, in the hope that they would become MY people, MY praise, and MY pride. But they refused to listen.

JERMIAH: CHAPTER 13, VERSES 1 - 11