"See, I have this day set you over nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to build and to plant. I will utter My judgements against them concerning all their wickedness, because they have forsaken Me, burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you," says the Lord, "to deliver you." Thus says the Lord: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me; that they have gone far from Me, have followed idols, and have become idolaters? Therefore I will yet bring charges against you," says the Lord, "and against your children's children I will bring charges.
"Be astaonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate," says the Lord. "Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and fear of Me is not in you," says the Lord God of hosts. "As the theif is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house Israel ashamed; they and their kings and their princes, and their preists and their prophets,
.....saying to a tree, ' You are my father, and to a stone, 'You gave brith to me.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise and save us.'
" O generation, see the world of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, 'We are Lords; we will come no more to You?' Yet you say, 'Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me.' Behold, I will plead My case against you, because you say, 'I have not sinned.' Indeed you will go forth from Him with your hands on your head; for the Lord has rejected your trusted allies, and you will not prosper by them.
Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it till the end? " Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, as you were able" "Return, O backsliding children," says the Lord; "for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will fill you with knowledge and understanding Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days," says the Lord, "that they will say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord'. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. For shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth- their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the North, and great destruction. The lion has come up from his thicket, and the Destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place to make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, without inhabitant.
"For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge."
I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
I beheld, and indeeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above black, because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, nor will I trun back from it.
"Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with Me, says the Lord. They have Lied about the Lord and said, 'It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, nor shall we see sword of famine.
" Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel", says the Lord. "It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LOrd is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you."
Chapter 10 Jeremiah
( The Gentiles)
Thus says the Lord:"Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good."
But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting king. At His wrath, the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. "The gods that have not made the heavens and earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens."
He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens: And He causes the vapors ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries. So, why do the ways of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy that deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind. But You, O lord, know me; you have seen me, and You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of Slaughter. How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither? The beasts and the birds are consumed, for the wickedness of those who dwell there, because they said,'He will not see our final end.'
"If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with steeds? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you too, then how will you do in the flood plain of even Jordan.
Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Every bottle shall be filled with wine. Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land- even the kings who sit on David's throne, the preists, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem-with drunkenness."
Hear and give ear: do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken. "This is your lot, the portion of your measures from Me," says the Lord, "Because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood. And I will appoint over them Four Forms of destruction," says the Lord: "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible. Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "that it shall no more be said: ' I live'-it will just be known.
