John Calvin on Jeremiah 9:26

However this may be, the Prophet here denounces ruin, not only on the Jews, but also on the Egyptians and on other neighboring nations; but he yet speaks to his own people, for his word was not destined for the Egyptians, nor for the Idumeans and the Moabites. But as the Jews were wont to have recourse to the Egyptians, when any danger arose from the Assyrians and Chaldeans, the Prophet here connects the Egyptians with the Jews, and for the same reason, the other nations. We indeed know that the Idumeans and the Moabites were most hostile enemies to the Jews; but as the state of things changed, they were at one time their enemies, at another their friends; and when they saw that the Chaldeans extended their power, they saw also that they were exposed to plunder, and hence it happened that they willingly helped the Jews. Since then the Hebrews hoped that their neighbors on every side would aid them, the Prophet says that a visitation was nigh them all: and hence is confirmed what I have already said; for he distinguishes not the Jews from the Egyptians and other nations; but, on the contrary, as they had made alliances with them, he intends to unite them in one body: I will visit, he says, the circumcised with the uncircumcision For the Jews did not bear in mind that God was the protector of their safety, and that they had been set apart by him from other nations. He names the circumcised together with the uncircumcision, because the Egyptians, the Idumeans, the Ammonites, and the Moabites, were deemed circumcised on account of the covenant they had made with the Jews; and the Jews were deemed uncircumcised, because they had forsaken God, and thus profarted themselves.

It is indeed true that the Idumeans were circumcised, for they were the descendants of Esau, and had no doubt retained this external symbol; but their circumcision was altogether a mockery, as Esau had departed from the Church of God. The circumcision of the elect people was in itself efficacious; but as they had alike fallen into superstitions, they were like the uncircumcised, according to what Paul says, — that the letter of the circumcision, that is, the external rite, was nothing. We hence see that there is no common propriety in the Prophet’s words, when he denounces vengeance on the Jews as well as on the Egyptians, and names the circumcised with the uneircumcision; for the latter had uncircumcision, the former circumcision, and thus they had blended profane and sacred things together, so that there was nothing pure or uncorrupted: and hence he mentions Egypt, Judah, Edom, the children of Ammon, and Moab We have before stated why he enumerated all these nations; he did so, because they expected help from one another, so that they all despised God.

He afterwards adds, And all the extreme ones in a corner The word קף, kots, means the end; hence they take קצוצים, kotsutsim, here for extremities: and פאה pae, signifies a corner, and an end. We might then, if propriety of language would bear it, render the words thus, “the cornered in the corner.” But the meaning is by no means ambiguous, which is, that though the Moabites and others had hidden recesses, they could not be exempt from the calamity. God’s vengeance shall come, says Jeremiah, into their farthest corners, where they think that they dwell in safety. And what follows is explanatory, the inhabitants of the wilderness, or, those who dwell in the wilderness. He thus shews what he meant by קצוצי פאה kotsutsi pae, the extremities, of the corner. For when people inhabit remote places, they regard themselves on that account safer, being secure in their hiding — places: this confidence the Prophet derides; and he says that punishment would reach them also. The exposition of the phrase given in this section is inconsistent with all the ancient versions and the Targum: it is what has been given by modern rabbins. “The shaven around the face,” is the Septuagint; “the shaven as to the hair,” the Vulqate and the Targum; and to the same purpose is the Syriac and Arabic. The word פאה is used in Leviticus 19:27, with distinct reference to the side or corner of the head, and of the beard; and the Israelites were forbidden to imitate the nations who shaved off those parts. Parkhurst renders the phrase (which occurs also in Jeremiah 25:23, and in Jeremiah 49:32) “trimmed on the sides,” that is, of the head; more literally, “the shaven on the side,” that is, of the head, or, “on the corner,” that is, of the beard. It was a phrase, though defective, yet no doubt well understood, as it is the case in other languages. The design of mentioning these seems to have been to class together such as had been expressly separated. I propose the following as the version of the two verses, —

25. Behold the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will visit every one circumcised, Who is in uncircumcision, —

26. The Egyptians and Judah, Edom also and the children of Ammon and Moab, And all the shawn on the side of the head, Who dwell in the desert; For all these nations are uncircumcised; And all the house of Israel, — They are uncircumcised in heart.

It is justly remarked by Horsley that the nations here mentioned practiced circumcision. They were hence circumcised, and yet in uncircumcision; and the Jews were like them: and the last line explains this apparent contradiction: they had the outward but not the inward circumcision. — Ed.

He then adds, For all the nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart By saying, that all nations were uncircumcised, he doubtless includes the Israelites, and thus by way of reproach he takes away from the chosen people their peculiar distinction; as though he had said, that Israel was so mixed with the nations, that they only made a part of them: the Jews would have otherwise denied, that they deserved to be classed with the Gentiles; but the Prophet deprives them of every excuse, and says that they were but one nation, having no difference: All these nations then are uncircumcised And so ה He, before גוים guim, nations, may be taken as a demonstrative pronoun, and not a relative, “All these nations.” He had spoken not only of the Egyptians and the Idumeans and of other neighboring nations, but had also mentioned Judah. He then says, “All these nations are uncircumcised:” and as I have already said, he condemns Israel, because they differed nothing from the nations, though God had consecrated them to himself; for there was an entire mingling, which made them all equal.

But as some objection might still be alleged, he says, the Jews are uncircumcised in heart He had indeed already included them in the nations; but it was necessary to insist more on this point, for circumcision might have been pleaded by them. Hence the Prophet says, that though they had the visible symbol in the flesh, they were yet uncircumcised in heart, and ought therefore to be classed with the nations. We see how sharply he reproves them: though he separates them from other nations, he yet shews that they justly deserved to be numbered with them; for God cares not for the external symbol, but regards the chief thing, the circumcision of the heart.

It is a common thing with Moses and the Prophets to call an unrenewed heart, uncircumcision, and to say that the people are uncircumcised in heart: for circumcision, while an evidence of free salvation in Christ, at the same time initiated the Jews into the worship and service of God, and proved the necessity of a new life; it was in short a sign both of repentance and of faith. When, therefore, the Jews presented only the sign, they were justly derided by Moses and the prophets; for they seemed as though they sought to pacify God by a thing of nought, without regarding the end. The same is the case now when we boast of baptism alone, and are at the same time destitute of repentance and faith: our boasting is absurd and ridiculous. And hence Paul calls the external rite, when the sign is separated from its reality and substance, the letter of the circumcision; and on the other hand he calls that the true circumcision, which is in secret and in the spirit. We may also say the same of baptism, — that the literal baptism avails hypocrites nothing, for they receive only the naked sign: and therefore we must come to the spirit of baptism, to the thing itself; for the interior power is renovation, when our old man is crucified in us, and when we rise again with Christ into newness of life.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast revealed to us in thy Gospel how guilty and miserable we are, we may learn to loathe ourselves, ard so He down confounded and despairing on account of the sins and guilt we have contracted, as yet to know that true glory is offered to us, and that we can be made partakers of it, if by true faith we embrace thy only-begotten Son, in whom is offered to us perfect righteousness and salvation: And grant also that we may so cleave to Christ, and so receive by faith his blessings, that we may be able, not only before the world, but also against Satan and death itself, to glory in thee, that thou alone art just and wise and strong; and may thy strength and justice and wisdom shine forth upon us in our iniquity and ignorance and infirmity, until we shall at length reach that ruiness of glory, which has been prepared for us in heaven by Christ our Lord. — Amen.

A TRANSLATION OF

CALVIN’S VERSION OF

JEREMIAH

CHAPTERS 1—9

CHAPTER 1

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin:

2 Even the word of Jehovah came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, The king of Judah, in the tenth year of his reign;

3 And it came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the transmigration of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, —

5 Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; Before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; A prophet to the nations have I made thee.

6 And I said, — Ah! Lord Jehovah, Behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.

7 And Jehovah said to me, — Say not, I am a child; For wheresoever I send thee, thou shalt go; And whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt say:

8 Fear not their face, for I am with thee, To deliver thee, saith Jehovah.

9 And Jehovah extended his hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said to me, — Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth;

10 See, I have set thee today Over nations and over kingdoms, To pull down and to destroy, To root up and to demolish, To build and to plant. (1:47)

11 Then the word of Jehovah came to me saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, The rod of a watcher is what I see.

12 Then Jehovah said to me, Thou hast rightly seen, for I watch over my word to do it.

13 And the word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A pot boiling is what I see; its face is towards the north.

14 And Jehovah said to me, — From the north shall break forth an evil On all the inhabitants of the land:

15 For behold, I am calling all the families Of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; And they shall come, and set shall each his throne, At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, And on all its walls around, And on all the cities of Judah:

16 And I will execute my judgments on them For all their wickedness; Because they have forsaken me, And have burnt incense to strange gods, And bowed down to the works of their own hands. (1:58)

17 Thou then, gird thy loins and arise, And speak to them whatsoever I command thee; Fear not their face, Lest I dismay thee before them.

18 And I, behold I have made thee this day A fortified city, an iron pillar, And a brazen wall, as to the whole land, Against the kings of Judah, Against his princes, against his priests, Against the people of the land:

19 And they shall fight with thee, But shall not prevail over thee, For with thee am I, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.

CHAPTER 2

1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, —

2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, Saying, Thus saith Jehovah, — I remember thee for my kindness to thine youth And my love at thy espousal, When thou didst follow me in the desert, In a land not sown. (1:70)

3 Holiness was Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruits of his increase: Whosoever devour him shall be punished, Evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.

4 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye house of Jacob, And all the families of the house of Israel:

5 Thus saith Jehovah, — What iniquity did your fathers find in me? For they alienated themselves from me, And walked after vanity, and became vain; (1:75)

6 And they said not, “Where is Jehovah, Who brought us out of the land of Egypt, And led us through the wilderness, In a land waste and rugged, In a land horrible and deadly, In a land through which none passed, And in which no man dwelt?” (1:79)

7 And I brought you into a fertile land, To eat its fruit and its abundance; But ye entered and polluted my land, And my heritage have ye made an abomination:

8 The priests said not, “Where is Jehovah?” And they who handled the law, knew not me; And the pastors dealt treacherously with me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal, And after things which did not profit, they walked.

9 Therefore still will I contend with you, saith Jehovah; And with your children’s children will I contend.

10 For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see; And to Kedar send, and consider diligently; And see whether such a thing as this has been done —

11 Has a nation changed its gods, Though they are no gods? Yet my people have changed their glory Unto that which does not profit.

12 Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and terrified, Be ye wholly desolated, saith Jehovah: (1:92)

13 Surely, two evils have my people done, — Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters, And dug have they for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, which hold no waters!

14 Is Israel a servant? Is he one born in the house? Why is he become a prey?

15 Over him roar the lions, They have raised their voice; They have made his land waste; His cities are burnt up, Without an inhabitant.

16 Even the children of Noph and Thaphanes Do break thy crown.

17 Hast thou not done this for thyself, By forsaking Jehovah thy God, While he was leading thee in the way?

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, That thou mightest drink the waters of the Nile? And what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, That thou mightest drink of the water of the river?

19 Chastise thee shall thine own wickedness, And thy apostasies, they shall punish thee; And thou shalt understand and know, That it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee To have forsaken Jehovah thy God, And that my fear has not been in thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

20 For of old have I broken thy yoke, Have I burst thy bands; But thou hast said, “I will not serve;” For on every high hill and under every shady tree Hast thou rambled like a harlot. (1:107)

21 I indeed planted thee a choice vine, Altogether a good seed; How then art thou turned to me A degenerated foreign vine!

22 Even though thou washest thyself with nitre, And multipliest to thee the herb of the fuller; Yet imprinted is thine iniquity Before my face, saith the Lord Jehovah.

23 How canst thou say, “I am not polluted, After Baalim have I not gone?” See thy ways in the valley, Know what thou hast done, — Thou swift dromedary, traversing her ways, —

24 A wild she-ass, used to the desert, In her own lust snuffing up the wind she meets with: Who can thence bring her back? Whosoever seeks her, needs not weary himself; In her month will he find her. (1:118)

25 Keep thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst: Yet thou hast said, “It is all over, No, for I have loved strangers, And after them will I go.”

26 As there is shame to a thief when caught, So ashamed shall be the house of Israel, Their kings and their princes, Their priests and their prophets, —

27 Who say to the wood, “My father art thou;” And to the stone, “Thou hast begotten me:” For they have turned to me the back, not the face; But in the time of their calamity they say, “Arise and save us.”

28 But where are thy gods, Which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee In the time of thy calamity; For according to the number of thy cities Have been thy gods, O Judah!

29 Why do ye contend with me? Ye have all dealt perfidiously with me, saith Jehovah.

30 In vain have I chastised your children; Correction they received not; Devoured has the sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.

31 O generation! see ye the word of Jehovah; Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of darkness? Wherefore have my people said, — “We have ruled, we will come no more to thee.” (1:135)

32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, A spouse her attire? But my people have forgotten me, Days without number.

33 Why trimmest thou thy ways to seek love? Thou hast even thus taught wickedness by thy ways.

34 Even in thy skirts is found The blood of the souls of the poor innocents; Not in digging under have they been found, But on account of all these things: (1:143)

35 Yet thou hast said, “Surely I am clean; Only let his fury depart from me.” Behold I will contend with thee in judgment, Because thou hast said, “I have not sinned.”

36 Why ramblest thou so much to change thy ways? Even of Egypt shalt thou be ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Assyria.

37 Even now for this thou shalt go forth, And thine hands on thine head; For abhorred hath Jehovah thy confidences, And in them thou shalt not prosper. (1:151)

CHAPTER 3

1 It is said, when a man puts away his wife, And she goes from him to another man, Shall he return to her again? Would not the land be thus greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many friends; Yet return to me, saith Jehovah.

2 Raise thine eyes to the high places, And see where thou hast played the harlot: By the ways thou didst sit for them, As the Arabian in the desert; And polluted hast thou the land With thy whoredoms and thy wickedness.

3 Restrained therefore have been the showers, And the late rain has not been; Yet the front of a strumpet has been thine, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.

4 Wilt thou not hereafter cry to me, — “My Father, the guide of my youth art thou?

5 Will he keep wrath for ever? Will he reserve it perpetually?” Behold, thou hast spoken, And hast done evils with all thy might. (1:162)

6 And Jehovah said to me in the days of Josiah the king, — Hast thou seen what the apostate Israel has done? She went on every high mountain And under every shady tree, And played there the harlot:

7 And I said, after she had done all these things, “Return to me;“ but she returned not; And see this did her perfidious sister Judah.

8 And I saw, that when for all these things, Because rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had dismissed her and given her a bill of divorce, Yet fear did not her perfidious sister Judah, But went and played also the harlot. (1:166)

9 And it happened through the levity of her whoredom, That she polluted the land, And played the harlot with stone and with wood.

10 And yet after all this, returned to me Has not her perfidious sister Judah, With her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.

11 And Jehovah said to me, — Justified herself has apostate Israel Rather than perfidious Judah:

12 Go and publish these words towards the north, And say, Return, rebellious Israel, saith Jehovah; I will not let fall my wrath upon you, For I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep it for ever:

13 But know thine iniquity, That against Jehovah thy God thou hast acted wickedly, And prostituted thy ways to strangers Under every shady tree; (1:176) And to my voice thou didst not hearken, saith Jehovah.

14 Return, ye rebellious children, saith Jehovah; For I am your husband; And I will take you, one from a city, And two from a family, and bring you to Sion;

15 And will give you pastors according to my heart, And they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 And it shall be, when ye shall multiply and increase In the land, in those days, saith Jehovah, That they will no more say, — “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah;” And it shall not come to mind, And they shall not remember nor visit it; Even this shall not be done any more. (1:185)

17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem, The throne of Jehovah; And assemble to it shall all nations, For the name of Jehovah, even to Jerusalem; And walk shall they no more After the evil hardness of their own hearts. (1:186)

18 In those days shall come The house of Judah with the house of Israel; Together shall they come from the land of the north, To the land which I have given For an inheritance to your fathers.

19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, And give thee the desirable land, The heritage coveted by hosts of nations? And I said, “My Father,” shalt thou call me, And from me thou wilt not depart. (1:189)

20 Surely as a woman deals perfidiously with her partner, So hast thou dealt perfidiously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.

21 A voice on high places was heard, The weeping of the prayers of the children of Israel; Because they had perverted their way, And forgotten Jehovah their God. (1:192)

22 “Return, ye rebellious children, I will heal your transgressions.” “Behold we come to thee, For thou art Jehovah our God:

23 Surely deceit is from the hills, From the multitude of mountains; Surely, in Jehovah our God Is the salvation of Israel. (1:194)

24 Even shame hath devoured the labor Of our fathers, from our youth, Even their sheep and their cattle, Their sons and their daughters.

25 We have lain down in our shame, And our reproach hath covered us, Because with Jehovah our God We have dealt wickedly, we and our fathers, From our childhood even to this day, (1:196) And have not attended to the voice of Jehovah our God.”

CHAPTER 4

1 If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah, Return to me; Even if thou wilt take away Thine abominations from my sight, And wilt not wander: (1:199)

2 And thou shalt swear, “Live does Jehovah, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;” Then bless themselves in him shall nations, And in him shall they glory. (1:202)

3 For thus saith Jehovah To the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, — Plough again the first ploughing, And sow not among thorns:

4 Be ye circumcised to Jehovah, And take away the foreskin of your heart, Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Lest my fury go forth like fire, And burn that none may quench it; On account of the evil of your doings.

5 Proclaim ye in Judah, And publish in Jerusalem, and say, “Sound the trumpet in the land;” Call, assemble, yea, say, — “Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities;”

6 Raise the standard in Sion; Flee, stay not, for an evil do I bring From the north, even a great ruin. (1:208)

7 Ascended has the lion from his thicket, And the waster of nations is gone forth; He is come forth from his place, To make thy land a waste; Thy cities shall be destroyed, So as to be without an inhabitant.

8 For this gird yourselves with sackcloth, Lament and howl; for turned away from us Is not the fury of Jehovah’s wrath.

9 And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That perish shall the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes; And amazed shall be the priests, And the prophets shall be astonished. (1:212)

10 Then I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah! Surely, deceiving thou hast deceived This people and Jerusalem, by saying, “Peace shall be to you;” Yet reached has the sword to the soul. (1:214)

11 At that time it shall be said To this people and to Jerusalem, — A dry wind from the heights of the desert Shall be towards the way of the daughter of my people, Not to fan nor to cleanse;

12 A wind stronger than this shall come for me; Now also will I pronounce judgments on them. (1:217)

13 Behold as clouds shall he ascend, And as a whirlwind his chariots; Swifter than eagles his horses: Woe to us! for we are lost.

14 Cleanse from evil the heart, Jerusalem; That thou mayest be saved: How long will remain within thee The thoughts of vanity! (1:221)

15 For a voice proclaims from Dan And publishes ruin from Mount Ephraim.

16 Rehearse it to the nations; Behold, publish against Jerusalem, — Besiegers come from a remote land, And raise over the cities of Judah their voice;

17 As keepers of the field they shall be over her around; Because she hath provoked me, saith Jehovah.

18 Thy way and thy doings have done this for thee; This is thy wickedness, though it be bitter, Though it reaches to thy heart. (1:227)

19 My bowels! my bowels! I am in pain; The walls of my heart! My heart is in a tumult within me; I will not be silent, for the sound of the trumpet Has my soul heard, And the clamor of war has it heard. (1:229)

20 Calamity on calamity is cried; For destroyed is the whole land; Suddenly destroyed are my tents, In an instant my curtains.

21 How long shall I see the standard — Shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 Because foolish are my people, Me have they not known; Sottish children are they, And they are not intelligent; Acute are they for evil, But how to do good they know not.

23 I beheld the land, and lo, it was waste and without form; And the heavens, and they had no light:

24 I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled; And all the hills were shaking:

25 I beheld, and lo, there was no man, And every bird of the heavens was fled:

26 I beheld, and lo, Carmel was a desert; And all its cities were destroyed, At the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the burning of his wrath.

27 For thus saith Jehovah, Laid waste shall be the whole land; But an end will I not make.

28 For this mourn shall the land, And black shall become the heavens above; For I have spoken, I have purposed, And will not repent nor be turned from this.

29 At the voice of the horseman and of the bowmen, Flee shall the whole city; They shall penetrate into thick clouds, They shall ascend into rocks; Every city shall be forsaken, And no man shall dwell in them. (1:245)

30 And thou, wretched one, what wilt thou do? Though thou puttest on crimson, Though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold, Though thou adornest with paint thine eyes, In vain wilt thou decorate thyself; Hate thee will thy lovers, Thy life will they seek.

31 Surely, the voice of one in travail have I heard, The distress as of one giving birth to a first-begotten, The voice of the daughter of Sion; Who mourns, who spreads her hands, — “Wo to me now! for fainted has my soul On account of murderers.” (1:251)

CHAPTER 5

1 Go round through the streets of Jerusalem, And see, I pray, and know, Inquire also in its cross-ways, Whether ye shall find a man, Whether there be any, who doeth judgment, Who seeketh the truth, And I will spare it. (1:252)

2 Though they say, “Live does Jehovah;” Yet in this they swear falsely.

3 Jehovah! are not thine eyes on the truth? Thou hast smitten them, But they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, But they have not received correction: They have made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to return.

4 But I said, Surely the poor are these; They have acted foolishly, Because they knew not the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God:

5 I will go to the great and speak to them, For they know the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God: But these have altogether broken the yoke, They have burst the bonds.

6 Therefore smite them shall the lion from the forest, The wolf of the desert shall spoil them, The leopard shall watch over their cities; Whosoever goeth out shall be torn: For manifold are their transgressions, Increased are their defections.

7 How for this shall I spare thee? Thy children have forsaken me, And have sworn by one that is not a god; When I fully satisfied them, they committed adultery, And at the house of the harlot they assembled:

8 Fed horses! rising early in the morning, Every one at his neighbor’s wife neigheth.

9 Should I not for these things visit? saith Jehovah, And on such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?

10 Ascend her walls and demolish, But an end make not; Take away her foundations, For they are not Jehovah’s:

11 For by transgressing they have transgressed against me, The house of Israel and the house of Judah saith Jehovah.

12 They have denied Jehovah and said, “He is not, and come on us shall no evil; Yea, the sword and the famine we shall not see:

13 And the prophets shall be wind, For the word is not in them: Thus shall it be done to them.”

14 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, — Because you have uttered this word, Behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them:

15 Behold I will bring on you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, A strong nation, an ancient nation, A nation whose language thou knowest not, And understandest not what it says: (1:286)

16 Their quiver is like an open sepulcher, All of them are valiant;

17 And they will devour thy harvest and thy bread; They will devour thy sons and thy daughters, They will devour thy flocks and thy herds, They will devour thy vine and thy fig-tree; To want shall they reduce thy fortified cities, To which thou trustest, by the sword:

18 But even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make with you an end.

19 And it shall be, when ye say, “Why hath Jehovah our God done to us All these things?” that thou wilt say to them, — As ye have forsaken me, And served foreign gods in your land, So shall ye serve foreigners in a land not your own.

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, And publish it in Judah, saying, —

21 Hear this, I pray, Ye foolish people and void of heart, Who have eyes and see not, Who have ears and hear not:

22 Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah; Will ye not at my presence tremble? Who have set the sand a bound to the sea, By a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it; Though its waves rage, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

23 But this people hath a perverse and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed:

24 And they have not said in their heart, — Let us now fear Jehovah our God, Who giveth rain, both the early And the latter shower in its season, Who keeps to us the appointed weeks of harvest.

25 Your iniquities have prevented these things, And your sins have restrained good from you.

26 For found among my people are the wicked; They look, as though they would set snares; A trap they set, in which they catch men. (1:303)

27 As a cage is full of birds So their houses are full of fraud: Therefore they are increased and become rich;

28 They are become fat, they shine; They even surpass the deeds of the wicked: The cause they judge not, The cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; And the judgment of the poor they judge not. (1:306)

29 Shall I not for this visit, saith Jehovah? On such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?

30 A monstrosity and baseness is in the land!

31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their means; (1:309) And my people wish it to be so: But what will ye do at the end of it?

CHAPTER 6

1 Be assembled, ye children of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa sound the trumpet; In Beth-haccerem also set up a sign; For evil is seen from the north, And great distress.

2 To a quiet and delicate woman Have I likened the daughter of Sion:

3 To her shall come shepherds and their flocks; They shall pitch their tents near her around, Feed shall each in his own place.

4 Prepare ye war against her: “Arise ye, and let us ascend at mid-day; Alas for us! for declined has the day, For extended are the evening shadows:

5 Arise, and let us ascend in the night, And let us demolish her palaces.” (1:319)

6 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Cut ye down wood, And form against. Jerusalem a mound; It is a city of visitation, Entire oppression is in the midst of her:

7 As a fountain casts out its waters, So she casts out her wickedness; Violence and plunder is heard of in her; Before me continually is grief and smiting.

8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, Lest I make thee a desert, A land not inhabited.

9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — By gleaning they shall glean, as a vine, The remnant of Israel: Turn back thine hand, As a grape-gatherer into the baskets. (1:326)

10 To whom shall I speak and protest, That they may hear? Behold, uncircumcised is their ear, And they cannot hear; Behold, the word of Jehovah is to them a reproach; They delight not in it.

11 Of Jehovah’s indignation therefore am I full, I am wearied with refraining To pour it on the children in the streets, And on the assembly of young men also; For the husband with his wife shall be taken, The aged with the full of days:

12 And turned shall be their houses to aliens, Their fields and their wives in like manner; For I will stretch out my hand On the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah:

13 For from the least to the greatest of them, Every one is given to covetousness; And from the prophet to the priest, Every one acts deceitfully;

14 And healed have they the wound Of the daughter of my people slightly By saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. (1:336)

15 Were they ashamed, that they had done abomination? Even of shame they were not ashamed, And how to blush they knew not: Fall therefore shall they among the fallen; At the time of their visitation They shall perish, saith Jehovah. (1:339)

16 Thus said Jehovah, — Stand in the ways and see, Inquire also concerning the old paths, Which is the right way, and walk ye in it, That ye may find rest to your soul: And they said, “We will not walk in it.”

17 I also set over them watchmen, That they might, attend to the sound of the trumpet; But they said, “We will not attend.”

18 Hear therefore, ye nations, And know, thou assembly, what shall be to them:

19 Hear, thou land; behold I bring an evil On this people, the fruit of their thoughts; Because to my words they have not hearkened, And my law have they despised.

20 To what purpose is this to me? Incense cometh from Sheba, And the sweet came from a far country; Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, And your sacrifices are not pleasant to me.

21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I lay before this people stumblingblocks; And stumble shall fathers and sons alike; Neighbor and friend, they shall perish.

22 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, a people shall corns from the north country, And a great nation shall be roused From the sides of the earth:

23 On the bow and spear shall they lay hold; They are cruel and will not spare; Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses shall they mount; Arrayed shall they be as men for war, Against thee, O daughter of Sion.

24 We have heard its fame; Relaxed are our hands, Anguish has laid hold on us, The pain as of one in travail.

25 Go not forth into the field, Nor walk by the way; For the sword of the enemy Is a terror on every side.

26 Daughter of my people! gird on sackcloth, And roll thyself in the dust; Make thee mourning, as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation; For suddenly shall come on thee the spoiler.

27 A tower have I made thee to my people, — A fortress; that thou mightest know And try their ways:

28 All are entire apostates, Walking in detraction; Brass and iron are they; All of them are corrupters. (1:358)

29 Burnt are the bellows by the fire, Entire is the lead, In vain has melted the melter; For the wicked have not been refined:

30 Reprobate silver shall they call them, Because rejected them has Jehovah (1:360)

CHAPTER 7

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, —

2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, And proclaim there this word, and say, — Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah, Who enter through these gates to worship Jehovah:

3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Make good your ways and your doings, And I will dwell with you in this place:

4 Trust not in words of falsehood, by saying, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, are these buildings.” (1:364)

5 Surely, if by making good ye make good Your ways and your doings, If by doing ye do judgment Between man and his neighbor,

6 If the stranger, the orphan and the widow, Ye oppress not, and innocent blood Ye shed not in this place, And after strange gods Ye walk not to your hurt, —

7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this places In the land which I gave to your fathers, For ever and ever.

8 Behold, ye trust in words of falsehood, Which are without profit.

9 Will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery, Swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, And walk after alien gods, Whom ye do not know;

10 And come and stand before me in this house, Which is called by my name, and say, “We have been made free To do all these abominations?” (1:373)

11 Is this house, called by my name, Become a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold I see, saith Jehovah.

12 But go now to my place in Shilo, Where I made to dwell my name at first, And see what I did there, For the wickedness of my people Israel:

13 And now, because ye have done All these works, saith Jehovah, And I spoke to you, rising early, And when I spoke, ye heard not, When I called you, ye answered not;

14 I will therefore do to this place, Which is called by my name, In which ye trust — Even to the place which I gave to you And to your fathers, as I did to Shilo;

15 And I will cast you out from my presence, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.

16 And thou, pray not for this people, And raise not for them a cry and a prayer, And intercede not with me; For I will not hear thee. (1:384)

17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 Children gather wood, And fathers kindle a fire, And women knead a dough, To make cakes for the queen of heaven; And they pour libations to alien gods, That they may provoke me to wrath! (1:387)

19 Do they provoke me to wrath, saith Jehovah? Is it not to the shame of their own faces?

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, — Behold my wrath, even my fury, It shall be poured on this place, Upon men and upon beast, Upon the tree of the field and the fruit of the land; And it shall burn, and none shall quench it.

21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye the flesh:

22 For I spoke not to your fathers, Nor commanded them in the day, In which I brought them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices;

23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, — “Hear my voice, And I will be to you a God, And you shall be to me a people; And walk ye in all the ways Which I have commanded you. That it may be well with you: