The Lord gave me knowledge, that I might have understanding. Then he showed me what the people were doing.

Later the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

The Lord again asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north.”

Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

O Lord who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people’s hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

“How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?”

I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth!

I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress!

Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’”

Then the Lord said, “You have observed correctly. This means I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.”

“I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The Lord had brought this all about because of his blazing anger.

Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Then I said, “Look up, Jerusalem, and see the enemy that is coming from the north. Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in?

I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them when disaster strikes them.”

Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.

The Lord says, “I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting. They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray.

In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.