1  Put yourselves under covert, ye children of Benjamin, away from the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the horn in Tekoa, and set up a signal on Beth-cherem; for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction.

1  O CHILDREN of Benjamin, flee out of the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet and set up a standard in Beth-keram; for I am bringing a calamity out of the north, and great destruction.

2  The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.

2  And thy pride, O daughter of Sion, shall be taken away.

2  I have compared the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.

3  Shepherds with their flocks come unto her; they pitch their tents against her round about; they feed bare every one what is nigh at hand.

3  The shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; and they shall pitch their tents against her round about, and shall feed their flocks each with his hand.

3  The pastors will come to her with their flocks. They have pitched their tents against her all around. Each one will feed those who are under his hand.

4  'Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon!' 'Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out!'

4  Prepare yourselves for war against her; rise up, and let us go up against her at noon. Woe to us! for the day has gone down, for the shadows of the day fail.

4  ‘Sanctify a war against her! Rise up together, and let us ascend at midday.’ ‘Woe to us! For the day has declined; for the shadows of the evening have grown longer.’

5  'Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.'

5  Rise, and let us go up against her by night, and destroy her foundations.

5  ‘Rise up, and let us ascend in the night, and let us destroy her houses.’ ”

6  For thus hath YHWH of hosts said: hew ye down her trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem; this is the city to be punished; everywhere there is oppression in the midst of her.

6  For thus saith the Lord, Hew down her trees, array a numerous force against Jerusalem. O false city; there is all oppression in her.

6  For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Cut down her trees, and build a rampart around Jerusalem. This is the city of visitation! Every kind of false claim is in her midst.

7  As a cistern welleth with her waters, so she welleth with her wickedness; violence and spoil is heard in her; before Me continually is sickness and wounds.

7  As a cistern cools water, so her wickedness cools her, ungodliness and misery shall be heard in her, as continually before her.

7  Just as a cistern makes its water cold, so has she made her wickedness cold. Iniquity and devastation will be heard in her; sickness and wounds will be ever before me.

8  Be thou corrected, O Jerusalem, lest My soul be alienated from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

8  Thou shalt be chastened, O Jerusalem, with pain and the scourge, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee a desert land, which shall not be inhabited.

8  O Jerusalem, accept instruction, lest perhaps my soul may withdraw from you; lest perhaps I may set you in a desert, in an uninhabitable land.”

9  Thus saith YHWH of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; turn again thy hand as a grape- gatherer upon the shoots.

9  Thus says the Lord of hosts: “They will gather the remnant of Israel, even as a single cluster of grapes is gathered from a vine. Direct your hand, as a grape-gatherer directs his hand to the basket.

10  To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is dull, and they cannot attend; behold, the word of YHWH is become unto them a reproach, they have no delight in it.

10  To whom should I speak, and to whom should I testify, so as to be heard? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and so they are unable to hear. Behold, for them, the word of the Lord has become a disgrace. And so they will not accept it.

11  Therefore I am full of the fury of YHWH, I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the babes in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

11  And I allowed my wrath to come to full, yet I kept it in, and did not utterly destroy them: I will pour it out on the children without, and on the assembly of young men together: for man and woman shall be taken together, the old man with him that is full of days.

11  For this reason, I have been filled with the fury of the Lord. I labor to bear it. Let it be poured out upon the child outside, or upon a group of young men meeting together. For a man will be taken captive with a woman, an elder will be taken captive with one who is full of days.

12  And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out My hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith YHWH.

12  Their houses shall be given to others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD.

13  For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is greedy for gain; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

13  Certainly, from the least of them even to the greatest, all of them practice greed. And from the prophet even to the priest, all of them act with deceit.

14  They have healed also the hurt of My people lightly, saying: 'Peace, peace', when there is no peace.

14  And they healed the breach of my people imperfectly, making light of it, and saying, Peace, peace, and where is peace?

14  And yet they try to heal the wound of the daughter of my people mockingly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.

15  They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they how to blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall, at the time that I punish them they shall stumble, saith YHWH.

15  They were ashamed because they failed; yet they were not ashamed as those who are truly ashamed, and they knew not their own disgrace: therefore shall they utterly fall when they do fall, and in the time of visitation shall they perish, said the Lord.

16  Thus saith YHWH: Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said: 'We will not walk therein.'

16  Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths of the Lord; and see what is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find purification for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in them.

16  Thus says the Lord: “Stand above the ways, and see and ask, about the ancient paths, as to which is the good way, and then walk in it. And you will find refreshment for your souls. But they said: ‘We will not walk.’

17  And I set watchmen over you: 'Attend to the sound of the horn', but they said: 'We will not attend.'

17  I have set watchmen over you, saying, Hear ye the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hear it.

17  And I appointed watchers over you, saying: ‘Listen for the sound of the trumpet.’ And they said: ‘We will not listen.’

18  Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is against them.

18  Therefore have the nations heard, and they that feed their flocks.

18  For this reason, hear, O Gentiles, and know, O congregation, how much I will do to them.

19  Hear, O earth: Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not attended unto My words, and as for My teaching, they have rejected it.

20  To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane, from a far country? Your burnt- offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto Me.

20  Wherefore do ye bring me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a land afar off? your whole-burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not been pleasant to me.

20  For what reason are you bringing me frankincense from Sheba, and sweet smelling reeds from a far away land? Your holocausts are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.”

21  Therefore thus saith YHWH: Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them, the neighbour and his friend, and they shall perish.

21  Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold I will bring this people to utter ruin, and they will fall, with their fathers and sons; neighbor and relative will perish together.”

22  Thus saith YHWH: Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be roused from the uttermost parts of the earth.

22  Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people comes from the north, and nations shall be stirred up from the end of the earth.

23  They lay hold on bow and spear, they are cruel, and have no compassion; their voice is like the roaring sea, and they ride upon horses; set in array, as a man for war, against thee, O daughter of Zion.

23  They will take hold of arrow and shield. They are cruel, and they will not take pity. Their voice will roar like the ocean. And they will climb upon horses, for they have been prepared like men for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion.

24  'We have heard the fame thereof, our hands wax feeble, anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.'

24  We have heard the report of them: our hands are weakened: anguish has seized us, the pangs as of a woman in travail.

24  ‘We have heard of their fame. Our hands have become weakened. Tribulation has overtaken us, like the pains of a woman giving birth.’

25  Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for there is the sword of the enemy, and terror on every side.

25  Do not choose to go out into the fields, and you should not walk along the roadway. For the sword and the terror of the enemy is on every side.

26  O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

26  Wrap yourself in haircloth, O daughter of my people. And sprinkle yourself with ashes. Make a mourning for yourself, as for an only son, a bitter lamentation: ‘for the destroyer will overwhelm us suddenly.’

27  I have made thee a tower and a fortress among My people; that thou mayest know and try their way.

28  They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron; they all of them deal corruptly.

28  All these leaders who are turning away and walking deceitfully, they are brass and iron; they have all been corrupted.

28  Their rulers are all rebellious, walking treacherously; like brass and iron, they are corruptible.

29  The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed of the fire; in vain doth the founder refine, for the wicked are not separated.

29  The bellows have failed from the fire, the lead has failed: the silversmith works at his trade in vain; their wickedness is not consumed.

29  The bellows has failed; the lead has been consumed by fire; the molten metal was melted to no purpose. For their wickedness has not been consumed.

30  Refuse silver shall men call them, because YHWH hath rejected them.

30  Call ye them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them.

30  Call them: ‘Rejected silver.’ For the Lord has cast them aside.”

7:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying

7:2  Stand in the gate of YHWH'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear the word of the YHWH, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

2  Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judea.

2  “Stand at the gate to the house of the Lord, and preach this word there, and say: Listen to the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter through these gates to adore the Lord.

7:3  Thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying: 'The temple of YHWH, the temple of the YHWH, the temple of the LORD, are these.'

4  Trust not in yourselves with lying words, for they shall not profit you at all, saying, It is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

4  Do not choose to trust in lying words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!’

7:5  Nay, but if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbour;

5  For if ye thoroughly correct your ways and your practices, and do indeed execute judgement between a man and his neighbour;

5  For if you direct your ways and your intentions well, if you exercise judgment between a man and his neighbor,

7:6  if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt;

6  if you do not act with deceit toward the new arrival, the orphan, and the widow, and if you do not pour out innocent blood in this place, and if you do not walk after strange gods, which is to your own harm,

7:7  then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

7  then I will live with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers from the beginning and even forever.

7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

8  But whereas ye have trusted in lying words, whereby ye shall not be profited;

8  Behold, you trust in false words, which will not benefit you,

7:9  Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye have not known,

9  so as to steal, to murder, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to offer libations to Baal, and to go after strange gods, which you do not know.

9  Indeed you are thieves, you are murderers, and you commit adultery and swear falsely and burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you know not;

7:10  and come and stand before Me in this house, whereupon My name is called, and say: 'We are delivered', that ye may do all these abominations?

7:11  Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith YHWH.

11  Is my house, whereon my name is called, a den of robbers in your eyes? And, behold, I have seen it, saith the Lord.

11  So then, has this house, where my name has been invoked, become a den of robbers in your eyes? It is I, I am, I have seen, says the Lord.

7:12  For go ye now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I caused My name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel.

12  Go to my place in Shiloh, where my name has lived from the beginning, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.

7:13  And now, because ye have done all these works, saith YHWH, and I spoke unto you, speaking betimes and often, but ye heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not;

13  And now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and because I have spoken to you from your morning rising, and because I was speaking, but you were not listening, and because I have called you, but you have not responded

7:14  therefore will I do unto the house, whereupon My name is called, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

14  I will do to this house, in which my name is invoked, and in which you have confidence, even to this place which I gave to you and to your fathers, just as I have done to Shiloh.

14  Therefore I will do to this house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to this city which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

7:15  And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

7:16  Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me; for I will not hear thee.

16  Therefore, you should not pray for this people, nor take up praise and supplication on their behalf. And you should not stand in opposition to me. For then I will not heed you.

16  Therefore do not pray for this people, neither supplicate for them nor make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.

7:17  Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

17  Have you not seen what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

7:18  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke Me.

18  The sons gather the wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the wives spread the grease, so as to make cakes to the queen of heaven and to offer libations to strange gods, and so as to provoke me to anger.

7:19  Do they provoke Me? saith YHWH; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?

19  But are they provoking me to anger, says the Lord? Are they not provoking themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?”

19  It is not I that they provoke, says the LORD, but they provoke themselves so that they may be ashamed.

7:20  Therefore thus saith YHWH GOD: Behold, Mine anger and My fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the land; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

20  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, my fury and my indignation is kindled against this place, over men and over beasts, and over the trees of the countryside and over the fruits of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.”

7:21  Thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh.

21  Thus saith the Lord, Gather your whole-burnt-offerings with your meat-offerings, and eat flesh.

21  Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your holocausts to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.

7:22  For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices;

22  For concerning the matter of holocausts and sacrifices, I did not speak with your fathers, and I did not instruct them, in the day when I led them away from the land of Egypt.

22  Neither did I command them concerning either burnt offerings or sacrifices in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt;

7:23  but this thing I commanded them, saying: 'Hearken unto My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'

23  But on this matter I did instruct them, saying: Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. And walk in the entire way that I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you.

7:24  But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in their own counsels, even in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward,

24  But they did not listen, nor did they incline their ear. Instead, they walked by their own will and in the depravity of their own wicked heart. And so, they went backward, and not forward,

7:25  even since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day; and though I have sent unto you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily betimes and often,

25  from the day that their fathers went forth out of the land of Egypt, even until this day. And I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, by day and early in the morning: yea, I sent them,

25  From the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day I have sent to them all my servants the prophets, daily.

7:26  yet they hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff; they did worse than their fathers.

26  But they have not listened to me, nor have they inclined their ear. Instead, they have stiffened their neck, and they have behaved worse than their fathers did.

26  I sent them in advance to warn them; but they did not listen nor incline their ear toward me, but hardened their necks more than their fathers.

7:27  And thou shalt speak all these words unto them, but they will not hearken to thee; thou shalt also call unto them, but they will not answer thee.

27  Therefore thou shalt speak this word to them;

7:28  Therefore thou shalt say unto them: This is the nation that hath not hearkened to the voice of YHWH their God, nor received correction; faithfulness is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

28  This is the nation which has not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, nor received correction: truth has failed from their mouth.

28  Truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth.

7:29  Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the high hills; for YHWH hath rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.

29  Cut off thine hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on thy lips; for the Lord has reprobated and rejected the generation that does these things.

29  Cut off your hair, and cast it away. And take up a lamentation on high. For the Lord has cast aside and abandoned this generation of his fury.

7:30  For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight, saith YHWH; they have set their detestable things in the house whereon My name is called, to defile it.

30  For the sons of Judah have done evil in my eyes, says the Lord. They have stationed their abominations in the house where my name is invoked, so that they may defile it.

7:31  And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into My mind.

7:32  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith YHWH, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, for lack of room.

32  For this reason, behold, the days will arrive, says the Lord, when it will no longer be called Topheth, nor the Valley of the son of Hinnom, but instead the Valley of Slaughter. Yet they will bury in Topheth, because there will be no other place.

7:33  And the carcasses of this people shall be food for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.

33  And the dead bodies of this people shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to drive them away.

33  And the corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the wild beasts of the land, and there will be no one to drive them away.

7:34  Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall be desolate.

34  And I will destroy out of the cities of Juda, and the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of them that make merry, and the voice of them that rejoice, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for the whole land shall become a desolation.

8:1  At that time, saith YHWH, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;

8:2  and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped; they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

2  And they will spread them out before the sun and the moon and the entire army of the heavens, which they have loved, and served, and followed, and which they have sought and adored. They will not be collected, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure upon the face of the earth.

8:3  And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith YHWH of hosts.

3  because they chose death rather than life, even to all the remnant that are left of that family, in every place whither I shall drive them out.

3  And they will greatly prefer death to life: all those who will have been left from this wicked kindred, in all the forsaken places to which I will cast them out, says the Lord of hosts.

8:4  Moreover thou shalt say unto them: Thus saith YHWH: Do men fall, and not rise up again? Doth one turn away, and not return?

4  For thus saith the Lord, Shall not he that falls arise? or he that turns away, shall he not turn back again?

8:5  Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

5  Wherefore has this my people turned away with a shameless revolting, and strengthened themselves in their willfulness, and refused to return?

5  Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.

8:6  I attended and listened, but they spoke not aright; no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying: 'What have I done?' Every one turneth away in his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle.

6  I paid close attention and I listened carefully. No one is speaking what is good. There is no one who does penance for his sin, saying: ‘What have I done?’ They have all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing with fury into battle.

6  I have given ear and heard, but they did not speak aright; no one repented of his evil, saying, What have I done? All of them walk according to their own will, as a horse that rushes into the battle.

8:7  Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the ordinance of YHWH.

7  The hawk in the heavens has known her time. The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their arrival. But my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.

8:8  How do ye say: 'We are wise, and the Law of YHWH is with us'? Lo, certainly in vain hath wrought the vain pen of the scribes.

8  How do you say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, surely the lying pen of the scribes has made it for falsehood.

8:9  The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; Lo, they have rejected the word of YHWH; and what wisdom is in them?

9  The wise men have been confounded; they were terrified and captured. For they cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.

8:10  Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess them; for from the least even unto the greatest every one is greedy for gain, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

10  Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to new inheritors; and they shall gather their fruits, saith the Lord.

10  Because of this, I will give their wives to outsiders and their fields to others as an inheritance. For from the least, even to the greatest, they all pursue avarice; from the prophet, even to the priest, they all act with deceit.

8:11  And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people lightly, saying: 'Peace, peace', when there is no peace.

11  And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace,’ though there was no peace.

8:12  They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they how to blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall, in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith YHWH.

12  They have been confounded because they committed abomination. Or rather, they have not been confounded with shame, for they do not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among the fallen. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.

12  Now they are ashamed because they have committed abomination, but the impudent are not at all ashamed, neither do they know what chastisement is. Therefore they fall among the fallen; in the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown, says the LORD.

8:13  I will utterly consume them, saith YHWH; there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is faded; and I gave them that which they transgress.

13  There are no grapes on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig-trees, and the leaves have fallen off.

13  When gathering, I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vine, and there are no figs on the fig tree. The leaves have fallen. And I have given them the things that have passed away.”

8:14  'Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be cut off there; for YHWH our God hath cut us off, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the YHWH.

14  “Why are we sitting still? Assemble, and let us enter the fortified city, and let us remain silent there. For the Lord our God has brought us to silence, and he has given us the water of gall as a drink. For we have sinned against the Lord.

14  And they shall say, Why do we dwell here? Let us gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities and let us be silent there; for the LORD our God has silenced us and has given us bitter water to drink because we have sinned against the LORD.

8:15  We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold terror!'

15  We assembled for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, but behold anxiety.

15  We expected peace, but there was nothing good. We expected a time of health, and behold, dread.”

8:16  The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembleth; for they are come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the city and those that dwell therein.

16  “From Dan, the snorting of his horses was heard; the entire land was shaken by the voice of the neighing of his fighters. And they arrived and devoured the land and its plenitude, the city and its inhabitants.

8:17  For, behold, I will send serpents, basilisks, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, saith YHWH.

17  For, behold, I send forth against you deadly serpents, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you

17  For behold, I will send among you serpents, king snakes, against which there is no charm, and they will bite you, says the Lord.

8:18  Though I would take comfort against sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

18  mortally with the pain of your distressed heart.

18  My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.

8:19  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far off: 'Is not YHWH in Zion? Is not her King in her?'-- 'Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, and with strange vanities?'--

19  Behold, there is a sound of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off: Is not the Lord in Sion? is there not a king there? because they have provoked me with their graven images, and with strange vanities.

8:20  'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'

20  The harvest has passed by, the summer is at an end, and we have not been saved.

8:21  For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I seized with anguish; I am black, appalment hath taken hold on me.

21  For the breach of the daughter of my people I have been saddened: in my perplexity pangs have seized upon me as of a woman in travail.

21  Over the destruction of the daughter of my people, I am contrite and saddened; astonishment has taken hold of me.

8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

22  And is there no balm in Galaad, or is there no physician there? why has not the healing of the daughter of my people taken place?

9:2  Oh that I were in the wilderness, in a lodging-place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

2  Who would give me a most distant lodge in the wilderness, that I might leave my people, and depart from them? for they all commit adultery, an assembly of treacherous men.

2  Who will provide me, in the wilderness, with a lodging place along the road? And then I will forsake my people, and withdraw from them. For they are all adulterers, a union of transgressors.

9:3  And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood; and they are grown mighty in the land, but not for truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and Me they know not, saith YHWH.

3  And they have bent their tongue like a bow: falsehood and not faithfulness has prevailed upon the earth; for they have gone on from evil to evil, and have not known me, saith the Lord.

9:4  Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother acteth subtly, and every neighbour goeth about with slanders.

4  Beware ye each of his neighbour, and trust ye not in your brethren: for every one will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily.

4  Let each one guard himself against his neighbor, and let him have no trust in any brother of his. For every brother will utterly overthrow, and every friend will advance deceitfully.

9:5  And they deceive every one his neighbour, and truth they speak not; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

5  Every one will mock his friend; they will not speak truth: their tongue has learned to speak falsehoods; they have committed iniquity, they ceased not, so as to return.

5  And every man will lie against his neighbor and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies, they are weary and worn out.

9:6  Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, saith YHWH.

6  There is usury upon usury, and deceit upon deceit: they would not know me, saith the Lord.

6  Your habitation is in the midst of deceit. In their deceitfulness, they have refused to know me, says the Lord.”

9:7  Therefore thus saith YHWH of hosts: Behold, I will smelt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of My people?

7  Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them, and I will test them. For what else can I do before the face of the daughter of my people?

9:8  Their tongue is a sharpened arrow, it speaketh deceit; one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.

9:9  Shall I not punish them for these things? saith YHWH; Shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

9  Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this?

9  Shall I not visit upon them concerning these things, says the Lord? Or shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation of this kind?

9:10  For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through. And they hear not the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled, and gone.

10  Take up a lamentation for the mountains, and a mournful dirge for the paths of the wilderness, for they are desolate for want of men; they heard not the sound of life from the birds of the sky, nor the cattle: they were amazed, they are gone.

10  I will take up weeping and lamentation over the mountains, and mourning over the beautiful places in the desert. For they have been scorched because no man is passing through them. And they have not heard the voice of any occupant. From the birds of the air, even to the cattle, they have migrated and withdrawn.

9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a lair of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without an inhabitant.

11  And I will remove the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and make it a dwelling-place of dragons; and I will utterly waste the cities of Juda, so that they shall not be inhabited.

9:12  Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of YHWH hath spoken, that he may declare it? Wherefore is the land perished and laid waste like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?

9:13  And YHWH saith: Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not hearkened to My voice, neither walked therein;

13  And the Lord said to me, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not hearkened to my voice;

13  And the Lord said: “It is because they have abandoned my law, which I gave to them, and they have not listened to my voice, and they have not walked by it.

9:14  But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them.

14  And they have gone after the depravity of their own heart, and after Baal, which they learned from their fathers.”

9:15  Therefore thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

15  therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them with trouble and will cause them to drink water of gall

15  For this reason, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed this people with absinthe, and I will give them the water of gall to drink.

9:16  I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.

16  And I will disperse them among nations, which they and their fathers have not known. And I will send the sword after them, until they are consumed.”

9:17  Thus saith YHWH of hosts: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the wise women, that they may come;

17  Thus saith the Lord, Call ye the mourning women, and let them come; and send to the wise women, and let them utter their voice;

17  Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Consider and call upon the women mourners, and let them approach. And send to those women who are wise, and let them hurry.

9:18  And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

18  and let them take up a lamentation for you, and let your eyes pour down tears, and your eyelids drop water.

18  ‘Let them hasten to take up a lamentation over us. Let our eyes shed tears, and our eyelids run with water.’

9:19  For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion: 'How are we undone! We are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.'

19  For a voice of lamentation has been heard in Sion, How are we become wretched! we are greatly ashamed, for we have forsaken the land, and have abandoned our tabernacles!

9:20  Yea, hear the word of YHWH, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation

20  “Therefore, listen, O women, to the word of the Lord! And let your ears take up the word of his mouth. And teach your daughters to lament. And let each one teach her neighbor to mourn

20  Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O women, and let your ears receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentations, and every one to her neighbor a melody.

9:21  'For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the street, and the young men from the broad places.--

21  For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets.

21  ‘For death has climbed through our windows. It has entered our houses to perish the little children from the outdoors, the youths from the streets.’ ”

9:22  Speak: Thus saith YHWH--And the carcasses of men fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, which none gathereth.'

22  And the carcases of the men shall be for an example on the face of the field of your land, like grass after the mower, and there shall be none to gather them.

22  “Speak: Thus says the Lord: And the corpses of men will fall like manure over the face of the countryside, and like hay behind the back of the reaper, and there will be no one to gather it.”

9:23  Thus saith YHWH: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;

23  Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;

23  Thus says the Lord: “The wise man should not glory in his wisdom, and the strong man should not glory in his strength, and the rich man should not glory in his riches.

9:24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth Me, that I am YHWH who exercise mercy, justice, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the YHWH.

24  But he who glories should glory in this: to know me and to know me well. For I am the Lord, who accomplishes mercy and judgment and justice upon the earth. For these things are pleasing to me, says the Lord.

24  But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who executes lovingkindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD.

9:25  Behold, the days come, saith YHWH, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision

9:26  Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair polled, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

26  on Egypt, and on Idumea, and on Edom, and on the children of Ammon, and on the children of Moab, and on every one that shaves his face round about, even them that dwell in the wilderness; for all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in flesh, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.

26  upon Egypt, and upon Judah, and upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all who have shaved off their hair, living in the desert. For all the nations are uncircumcised in body, but all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

10:1  Hear ye the word which YHWH speaketh unto you, O house of Israel;

1  Listen to the word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, O house of Israel.

10:2  thus saith YHWH: Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.

2  Thus saith the Lord, Learn ye not the ways of the heathen, and be not alarmed at the signs of the sky; for they are alarmed at them, falling on their faces.

2  Thus says the Lord: “Do not choose to learn according to the ways of the Gentiles. And do not be willing to dread the signs of heaven, which the Gentiles fear.

10:3  For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for it is but a tree which one cutteth out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.

3  For the laws of the people are empty. For the work of the hand of the craftsman has cut a tree from the forest with an axe.

3  For the gods of the Gentiles are nothing; they are cut from a tree in the forest, the work of the hands of a carpenter, things made with a plane.

10:4  They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

4  They are beautified with silver and gold, they fix them with hammers and nails;

10:5  They are like a pillar in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not; they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

5  they will set them up that they may not move; it is wrought silver, they will not walk, it is forged silver(10:5) They must certainly be borne, for they cannot ride of themselves. Fear them not; for they cannot do any evil, and there is no good in them.

5  They have been fabricated in the likeness of a palm tree, and they will not speak. They must be carried to be moved, because they do not have the ability to walk. Therefore, do not be willing to fear them, for they can do neither evil nor good.”

10:6  There is none like unto Thee, O YHWH; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.

6  O Lord, there is nothing similar to you. You are great, and your name is great in strength.

10:7  Who would not fear Thee, O king of the nations? For it befitteth Thee; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royalty, there is none like unto Thee.

7  Who will not fear you, O King of the nations? For honor is yours. Among all the wise of the nations, and within all their kingdoms, there is nothing similar to you.

10:8  But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;

8  Together, they will all be proven to be unwise and foolish. The doctrine of their vanity is made of wood.

8  But altogether the vain doctrines of wooden image worship shall be utterly destroyed and consumed.

10:9  Silver beaten into plates which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men.

9  brought from Tharsis, gold will come from Mophaz, and the work of goldsmiths: they are all the works of craftsmen, they will clothe themselves with blue and scarlet.

9  Fine silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Ophir; they are the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the silversmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are woven by cunning men.

10:10  But YHWH God is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide His indignation.

10  But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. Before his indignation, the earth will shake. And the Gentiles will not be able to withstand his threats.

10:11  Thus shall ye say unto them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.'

11  “And so, you shall speak to them in this way: The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish from the earth and from among those places which are under heaven.

10:12  He that hath made the earth by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His understanding;

12  It is the Lord that made the earth by his strength, who set up the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the sky,

12  He made the earth by his power, he prepared the world in his wisdom, and he stretched out the heavens with his understanding.

10:13  At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, when He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; when He maketh lightnings with the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries;

13  and set abundance of waters in the sky, and brought up clouds from the ends of the earth; he made lightnings for the rain, and brought forth light out of his treasures.

10:14  Every man is proved to be brutish, without knowledge, every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image, his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

14  Every man has acted foolishly because of lack of knowledge; all those who work in gold are ashamed because of the graven images which they made; for molten images are falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

10:15  They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

15  These things are empty, and they are a work deserving of ridicule. In the time of their visitation, they will perish.

10:16  Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; YHWH of hosts is His name.

16  Such is not the portion of Jacob; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name.

16  Jacob’s portion is not like their portion. For his portion is from the One who formed all things. And Israel is the staff of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name.

10:17  Gather up thy wares from the ground, O thou that abidest in the siege.

17  He has gathered thy substance from without the lodged in choice vessels.

10:18  For thus saith YHWH: Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.

10:19  Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is grievous; but I said: 'This is but a sickness, and I must bear it.'

19  Alas for thy ruin! thy plague is grievous: and I said, Surely this is thy wound, and it has overtaken thee.

19  Woe to me, concerning my destruction! My wound is very grievous. And yet I said: Clearly, this infirmity is mine, and I will carry it.

10:20  My tent is spoiled, and all my cords are broken; my children are gone forth of me, and they are not; there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

20  Thy tabernacle is in a ruinous state, it has perished; and all thy curtains have been torn asunder: my children and my cattle are no more: there is no more any place for my tabernacle, nor place for my curtains.

10:21  For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of YHWH; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.

21  For the pastors have acted foolishly, and they have not sought the Lord. Because of this, they have not understood, and all their flock has been dispersed.

10:22  Hark! a report, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling-place of jackals.

22  Behold, there comes a sound of a noise, and a great earthquake from the land of the north, to make the cities of Juda a desolation, and a resting-place for ostriches.

10:23  O YHWH, I know that man's way is not his own; it is not in man to direct his steps as he walketh.

23  I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his own; neither shall a man go, and direct his going.

23  I know that the ways of the LORD are not like the ways of men; he does not walk as a man directing his steps.

10:24  O YHWH, correct me, but in measure; not in Thine anger, lest Thou diminish me.

24  Correct me, O Lord, yet truly, do so with judgment, and not in your fury. Otherwise, you will reduce me to nothing.

10:25  Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

25  Pour out your indignation upon the nations that have not known you, and upon the provinces that have not invoked your name. For they have fed upon Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and they have utterly destroyed his honor.