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

Then the Lord said, “This means destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land.

Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord.

Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.

They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’ But everything is not all right!

“‘But just look at you! You are putting your confidence in a false belief that will not deliver you.

The Lord said to the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too!

They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, “Everything will be all right!” But everything is not all right!

The Lord says, “Watch out! The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.

And I cried out, “We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought, ‘This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!’

The people I call my own have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They have roared defiantly at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the drought.

Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found.”

So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel.

There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom.

I will send men against it to destroy it with their axes and hatchets. They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns and throw them into the fire.

The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

But just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

So I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me.

I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’