Do you see ¹  what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ² 

“You should fear me!” says the Lord. “You should tremble in awe before me! ¹  I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” ² 

“From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged. ¹ 

You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, ¹  by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. ² 

Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! ¹  You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

I will make a lasting covenant ¹  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ²  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ³  they will never again turn ⁴  away from me.

I will bring on you lasting shame and lasting disgrace which will never be forgotten!’”

You should have reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who is pretending to be a prophet among you! ¹ 

They went on to Egypt ¹  because they refused to obey the Lord, and came to Tahpanhes. ² 

Yes, ¹  the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ² 

Tell them that the Lord says, ¹  ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. ² 

However, Ahikam son of Shaphan ¹  used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people. ² 

Then the Lord told me about ¹  some men from Anathoth ²  who were threatening to kill me. ³  They had threatened, ⁴  “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” ⁵ 

Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ¹  “We are safe! ²  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ³ 

He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.’ ¹  The Lord says, ‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ² 

Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. ¹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²  Even if you ³  continue to fight against the Babylonians, ⁴  you cannot win.’”

You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!” ¹ 

Yes, ¹  here is what he says: “You hear cries of panic and of terror; there is no peace in sight. ² 

Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ¹  But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ²  Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ³  They refuse to change their ways. ⁴ 

I hear my dear people ¹  crying out ²  throughout the length and breadth of the land. ³  They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion? Is her divine King ⁴  no longer there?’” The Lord answers, ⁵  “Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” ⁶