At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel and they will be my people. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

For I solemnly swear,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone their own way.

The Lord said to Jeremiah:

The Lord said to Jeremiah:

My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.

Do not cause me dismay! You are my source of safety in times of trouble.

The Lord said to Jeremiah:

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah.

So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me,

That was when the Lord spoke to Jeremiah,

The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for them. He told him to tell them,

At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.

Babylonia will be plundered. Those who plunder it will take all they want,” says the Lord.

“Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off?

Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.

They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.

All this will happen because the Lord said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

They are like lusty, well-fed stallions. Each of them lusts after his neighbor’s wife.