At the Potter's House

       This is the word that came to Jeremiah from THE LORD: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you MY message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
       Then the word of THE LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares THE LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in MY hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in MY sight and does not obey ME, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
       "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what THE LORD says: Look! I AM preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.' "

       Therefore this is what THE LORD says:

       "Inquire among the nations:
          Who has ever heard anything like this?
       A most horrible thing has been done
          by Virgin Israel.
       Does the snow of Lebanon
          ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
       Do its cool waters from distant sources
          ever cease to flow?
       Yet MY people have forgotten ME;
          they burn incense to worthless idols,
       which made them stumble in their ways
          and in the ancient paths.
       They made them walk in bypaths
          and on roads not built up.
       Their land will be laid waste,
          an object of lasting scorn;
       all who pass by will be appalled
          and will shake their heads.
       Like a wind from the east,
          I will scatter them before their enemies;
       I will show them MY back and not MY face
          in the day of their disaster."

       They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says."

       Listen to me, O LORD;
          hear what my accusers are saying!
       Should good be repaid with evil?
          Yet they have dug a pit for me.
       Remember that I stood before YOU
          and spoke in their behalf
          to turn YOUR wrath away from them.
       So give their children over to famine;
          hand them over to the power of the sword.
       Let their wives be made childless and widows;
          let their men be put to death,
          their young men slain by the sword in battle.
       Let a cry be heard from their houses
          when YOU suddenly bring invaders against them,
       for they have dug a pit to capture me
          and have hidden snares for my feet.
       But YOU know, O LORD,
          all their plots to kill me.
       Do not forgive their crimes
          or blot out their sins from YOUR sight.
       Let them be overthrown before YOU;
          deal with them in the time of YOUR anger.

       This is what THE LORD says: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, 'Hear the word of THE LORD, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: Listen! I AM going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken ME and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal--something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter MY mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares THE LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
       " 'In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.'
       "Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, 'This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares THE LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth--all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.' "
       Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where THE LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of THE LORD'S temple and said to all the people, "This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: 'Listen! I AM going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to MY words.' "


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 18 & chapter 19

Jeremiah and Pashhur

       When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of THE LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at THE LORD'S temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "THE LORD'S name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib. For this is what THE LORD says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city--all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.' "


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 20, verses 1 - 6

Jeremiah's Complaint

       O LORD, YOU deceived me, and I was deceived;
          YOU overpowered me and prevailed.
       I am ridiculed all day long;
          everyone mocks me.
       Whenever I speak, I cry out
          proclaiming violence and destruction.
       So the word of THE LORD has brought me
          insult and reproach all day long.
       But if I say, "I will not mention HIM
          or speak any more in HIS name,"
       HIS word is in my heart like a fire,
          a fire shut up in my bones.
       I am weary of holding it in;
          indeed, I cannot.
       I hear many whispering,
          "Terror on every side!
          Report him! Let's report him!"
       All my friends
          are waiting for me to slip, saying,
       "Perhaps he will be deceived;
          then we will prevail over him
          and take our revenge on him."

       But THE LORD is with me like a mighty warrior,
          so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
       They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
          their dishonor will never be forgotten.
       O LORD ALMIGHTY, YOU who examine the righteous
          and probe the heart and mind,
       let me see YOUR vengeance upon them,
          for to YOU I have committed my cause.

       Sing to THE LORD!
          Give praise to THE LORD!
       HE rescues the life of the needy
          from the hands of the wicked.

       Cursed be the day I was born!
          May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
       Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
          who made him very glad, saying,
          "A child is born to you--a son!"
       May that man be like the towns
          THE LORD overthrew without pity.
       May he hear wailing in the morning,
          a battle cry at noon.
       For he did not kill me in the womb,
          with my mother as my grave,
          her womb enlarged forever.
       Why did I ever come out of the womb
          to see trouble and sorrow
          and to end my days in shame?


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 20, verses 7 - 18

GOD Rejects Zedekiah's Request

       The word came to Jeremiah from THE LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: "Inquire now of THE LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps THE LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us."
       But Jeremiah answered them, "Tell Zedekiah, 'This is what THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: I AM about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I MYSELF will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city--both men and animals--and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares THE LORD, I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.'
       "Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what THE LORD says: See, I AM setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares THE LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.'
       "Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, 'Hear the word of THE LORD; O house of David, this is what THE LORD says:

       " 'Administer justice every morning;
          rescue from the hand of his oppressor
          the one who has been robbed,
       or MY wrath will break out and burn like fire
          because of the evil you have done--
          burn with no one to quench it.
       I AM against you, Jerusalem,
          you who live above this valley
          on the rocky plateau,
                                                 declares THE LORD--
       you who say, "Who can come against us?
          Who can enter our refuge?"
       I will punish you as your deeds deserve,
                                                declares THE LORD.
       I will kindle a fire in your forests
          that will consume everything around you.' "


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 21

Judgment Against Evil Kings

       This is what THE LORD says: "Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: 'Hear the word of THE LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne--you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what THE LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares THE LORD, I swear by MYSELF that this palace will become a ruin.' "
       For this is what THE LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah:

       "Though you are like Gilead to ME,
          like the summit of Lebanon,
       I will surely make you like a desert,
          like towns not inhabited.
       I will send destroyers against you,
          each man with his weapons,
       and they will cut up your fine cedar beams
          and throw them into the fire.

       "People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, 'Why has THE LORD done such a thing to this great city?' And the answer will be: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of THE LORD their GOD and have worshiped and served other gods.' "

       Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss;
          rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
       because he will never return
          nor see his native land again.

For this is what THE LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: "He will never return. He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again."

       "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
          his upper rooms by injustice,
       making his countrymen work for nothing,
          not paying them for their labor.
       He says, 'I will build myself a great palace
          with spacious upper rooms.'
       So he makes large windows in it,
          panels it with cedar
          and decorates it in red.

       "Does it make you a king
          to have more and more cedar?
       Did not your father have food and drink?
          He did what was right and just,
          so all went well with him.
       He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
          and so all went well.
       Is that not what it means to know ME?"
          declares THE LORD.
       "But your eyes and your heart
          are set only on dishonest gain,
       on shedding innocent blood
          and on oppression and extortion."

Therefore this is what THE LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

       "They will not mourn for him:
          'Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!'
       They will not mourn for him:
          'Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!'
       He will have the burial of a donkey--
          dragged away and thrown
          outside the gates of Jerusalem."

       "Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
          let your voice be heard in Bashan,
       cry out from Abarim,
          for all your allies are crushed.
       I warned you when you felt secure,
          but you said, 'I will not listen!'
       This has been your way from your youth;
          you have not obeyed ME.
       The wind will drive all your shepherds away,
          and your allies will go into exile.
       Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
          because of all your wickedness.
       You who live in 'Lebanon,'
          who are nestled in cedar buildings,
       how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
          pain like that of a woman in labor!

       "As surely as I live," declares THE LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on MY right hand, I would still pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear--to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the land you long to return to."

       Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,
          an object no one wants?
       Why will he and his children be hurled out,
          cast into a land they do not know?
       O land, land, land,
          hear the word of THE LORD!
       This is what THE LORD says:
       "Record this man as if childless,
          a man who will not prosper in his lifetime,
       for none of his offspring will prosper,
          none will sit on the throne of David
          or rule anymore in Judah."


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 22

The Righteous Branch

       "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of MY pasture!" declares THE LORD. Therefore this is what THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered MY flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares THE LORD. "I MYSELF will gather the remnant of MY flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares THE LORD.

       "The days are coming," declares THE LORD,
          "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
       a King who will reign wisely
          and do what is just and right in the land.
       In his days Judah will be saved
          and Israel will live in safety.
       This is the name by which he will be called:
          THE LORD Our Righteousness.

"So then, the days are coming," declares THE LORD, "when people will no longer say, 'As surely as THE LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, 'As surely as THE LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where HE had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land."


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 23, verses 1 - 8

Lying Prophets

       Concerning the prophets:

       My heart is broken within me;
          all my bones tremble.
       I am like a drunken man,
          like a man overcome by wine,
       because of THE LORD
          and HIS holy words.
       The land is full of adulterers;
          because of the curse the land lies parched
          and the pastures in the desert are withered.
       The prophets follow an evil course
          and use their power unjustly.

       "Both prophet and priest are godless;
          even in MY temple I find their wickedness,"
                                                               declares THE LORD.
       "Therefore their path will become slippery;
          they will be banished to darkness
          and there they will fall.
       I will bring disaster on them
          in the year they are punished,"
                                                               declares THE LORD.

       "Among the prophets of Samaria
          I saw this repulsive thing:
       They prophesied by Baal
          and led MY people Israel astray.
       And among the prophets of Jerusalem
          I have seen something horrible:
          They commit adultery and live a lie.
       They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
          so that no one turns from his wickedness.
       They are all like Sodom to ME;
          the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."

       Therefore, this is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY says concerning the prophets:

       "I will make them eat bitter food
          and drink poisoned water,
       because from the prophets of Jerusalem
          ungodliness has spread throughout the land."

       This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY says:

       "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
          they fill you with false hopes.
       They speak visions from their own minds,
          not from the mouth of THE LORD.
       They keep saying to those who despise ME,
          'THE LORD says: You will have peace.'
       And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
          they say, 'No harm will come to you.'
       But which of them has stood in the council of THE LORD
          to see or to hear HIS word?
          Who has listened and heard HIS word?
       See, the storm of THE LORD
          will burst out in wrath,
       a whirlwind swirling down
          on the heads of the wicked.
       The anger of THE LORD will not turn back
          until HE fully accomplishes
          the purposes of HIS heart.
       In days to come
          you will understand it clearly.
       I did not send these prophets,
          yet they have run with their message;
       I did not speak to them,
          yet they have prophesied.
       But if they had stood in MY council,
          they would have proclaimed MY words to MY people
       and would have turned them from their evil ways
          and from their evil deeds.

       "Am I only a GOD nearby,"
                                                               declares THE LORD,
          "and not a GOD far away?
       Can anyone hide in secret places
          so that I cannot see him?"
                                                               declares THE LORD.
          "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
                                                               declares THE LORD.

       "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in MY name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make MY people forget MY name, just as their fathers forgot MY name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has MY word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares THE LORD. "Is not MY word like fire," declares THE LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
       "Therefore," declares THE LORD, "I AM against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from ME. Yes," declares THE LORD, "I AM against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'THE LORD declares.' Indeed, I AM against those who prophesy false dreams," declares THE LORD. "They tell them and lead MY people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares THE LORD.


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 23, verses 9 - 32

False Oracles and False Prophets

       "When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, 'What is the oracle of THE LORD?' say to them, 'What oracle? I will forsake you, declares THE LORD.' If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, 'This is the oracle of THE LORD,' I will punish that man and his household. This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: 'What is THE LORD'S answer?' or 'What has THE LORD spoken?' But you must not mention 'the oracle of THE LORD' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of THE LIVING GOD, THE LORD ALMIGHTY, our GOD. This is what you keep saying to a prophet: 'What is THE LORD'S answer to you?' or 'What has THE LORD spoken?' Although you claim, 'This is the oracle of THE LORD,' this is what THE LORD says: You used the words, 'This is the oracle of THE LORD,' even though I told you that you must not claim, 'This is the oracle of THE LORD.' Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of MY presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace--everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 23, verses 33 - 40

Two Baskets of Figs

       After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, THE LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of THE LORD. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
       Then THE LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
       "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."
       Then the word of THE LORD came to me: "This is what THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. MY eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know ME, that I AM THE LORD. They will be MY people, and I will be their GOD, for they will return to ME with all their heart.
       " 'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says THE LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.' "


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 24

Seventy Years of Captivity

       The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: For twenty-three years--from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day--the word of THE LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
       And though THE LORD has sent all HIS servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land THE LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke ME to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
       "But you did not listen to ME," declares THE LORD, "and you have provoked ME with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves."
       Therefore THE LORD ALMIGHTY says this: "Because you have not listened to MY words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and MY servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares THE LORD, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
       "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares THE LORD, "and will make it desolate forever. I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 25, verses 1 - 14

The Cup of GOD'S Wrath

       This is what THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, said to me: "Take from MY hand this cup filled with the wine of MY wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them."
       So I took the cup from THE LORD'S hand and made all the nations to whom HE sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); Edom, Moab and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other--all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.
       "Then tell them, 'This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.' But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY says: You must drink it! See, I AM beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears MY Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I AM calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares THE LORD ALMIGHTY.'
       "Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

       " 'THE LORD will roar from on high;
          HE will thunder from HIS holy dwelling
          and roar mightily against HIS land.
       HE will shout like those who tread the grapes,
          shout against all who live on the earth.
       The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
          for THE LORD will bring charges against the nations;
       HE will bring judgment on all mankind
          and put the wicked to the sword,' "
                                                               declares THE LORD.

       This is what THE LORD ALMIGHTY says:

       "Look! Disaster is spreading
          from nation to nation;
       a mighty storm is rising
          from the ends of the earth."

At that time those slain by THE LORD will be everywhere--from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground.

       Weep and wail, you shepherds;
          roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
       For your time to be slaughtered has come;
          you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
       The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
          the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
       Hear the cry of the shepherds,
          the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
          for THE LORD is destroying their pasture.
       The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
          because of the fierce anger of THE LORD.
       Like a lion HE will leave HIS lair,
          and their land will become desolate
       because of the sword of the oppressor
          and because of THE LORD'S fierce anger.


The Book of Jeremiah: chapter 25, verses 15 - 38