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Chapter 22
Thus saith the Lord also: Go
down in to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there these
words, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, thou king of Judah that
sittest in the kingly seat of David: thou, and thy servants, and thy
people, that go in and out of this gate. Thus saith the Lord
commandeth: Keep equity and righteousness, deliver the oppressed
from the power of the violent: do not grieve ner oppress the
stranger, the fatherless, ner the widow, and shed no blood in this
place.
And if ye will keep these things faithfully, then shall there
come in at the door of this house kings, to sit upon Davids seat:
they shall be carried in Chariots and ride upon horses, both they
and their servants, and their people. But if ye will not be obedient
unto these commandments, I swear by mine own self ( saith the Lord )
this house shall be waste. For thus hath the Lord spoken upon the
kings house of Judah: Thou art the head, as Galaad in Libanus: What
wilt thou lay of it, if I make thee not so waste ( and thy cities
also ) that no man shall dwell therin? I will prepare a destroyer
with his weapons for thee, to hew down thy special Cedar trees, and
to cast them in the fire.
And all the people that go in this city, shall speak to one
another: Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this noble city?
Then shall it be answered: because they have broken the covenant of
the Lord their God, and have worshipped and served other gods. Mourn
not over the dead, and be not wo for them, but be sorry for him that
departeth away: for he cometh not again, and seeth his native
country no more. For thus saith the Lord, as touching Selum the son
of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned after his father, and is
carried out of this place: He shall never come hither again, for he
shall die in the place, where unto he is led captive, and shall see
this land no more. Wo worth him, that buildeth his house with
unrighteousness, and his parlors with the good that he hath gotten
by violence: which never recompenceth his neighbors labor, ner
payeth him his hire. He thinketh in himself: I will build me a wide
house, and gorgeous parlors: He causeth windows to be hewn therin,
and the ceilings and *geastes maketh he of Cedar, and painteth them
with Zenober. Thinkest thou to reign, now that thou provokest me to
wrath with the Cedar trees?
Did not thy father eat and drink, and prosper well, as long as
he dealt with equity and righteousness? Yee when he helped the
oppressed and poor to their right, then prospered he well.
From whence came this, but only because he had me before his
eyes, saith the Lord. Nevertheless, as for thine eyes and thine
heart, they look upon covetousness, to shed innocent blood, and to
do wrong and violence. And therefore, thus saith the Lord against
Jehoakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah: They shall not mourn for
him ( as they used to do ) alas brother, alas sister: Neither shall
they say unto him: Alas sir, alas for that noble prince. But as an
Ass shall he be buried, corrupt and be cast without the gates of
Jerusalem.
Climb up the hill of Libanus ( O thou daughter Sion ) lift up
thy voice upon Basan, cry from all parts: for all thy lovers are
destroyed. I gave thee warning, while thou wast yet in prosperity.
But thou saidst: I will not hear. And this manner thou hast used
from thy youth, that thou wouldest never hear my voice. All thy
herdsmen shall be driven with the wind, and thy dearlings shall be
carried away into captivity: Then shalt thou be brought to shame and
confusion, because of all thy wickedness: thou that dwellest upon
Libanus, and makest thy nest in the Cedars trees. O how great shall
thy mourning be, when thy sorrows come upon thee, as a woman
travailing with child?
As truly as I live ( sayeth the Lord ) Though Conaniah the son
of Jehoakim king of Judah were the signet of my right hand, yet will
I pluck him off: And I will give thee into the power of them that
seek to slay thee, and into the power of them that thou fearest:
into the power of Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon, and into the
power of the Caldees. Moreover, I will send thee, and thy mother
that bare thee, into a strange land, where ye were not born, and
there shall ye die. But as for the land that ye will desire to
return unto, ye shall never come at it again. This man Conaniah
shall be like an image robbed and torn to pieces, which pleaseth no
man, for all his apparel. Wherefore both he and his seed shall be
sent away, and cast out into the land, that they know not. O thou
earth, earth, earth: hear the word of the Lord. Write this man among
the outlaws, for no prosperity shall this man have all his life
long. Neither shall any of his seed be so happy, as to sit upon the
seat of David, and to bear rule in Juda.
*geastes (joists?)
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Chapter 23
Woe be unto the shepherds, that
destroy, and scatter my flock, saith the Lord. Wherefore, this is
the commandment of the Lord God of Israel, unto the shepherds that
feed my people: Ye scatter and thrust out my flock, and look not
upon them. Therefore now will I visit the wickedness of your
imaginations, saith the Lord: And I will gather together the remnant
of my flock, from all lands that I have driven them unto, and will
bring them again to their pastures, that they may grow and increase.
I will set shepherds also over them, which shall feed them. They
shall no more fear and dread, for there shall none of them be lost,
saith the Lord. Behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that I will
raise up the righteous branch of David, which shall bear rule, and
discuss matters with wisdom, and shall set up equity and
righteousness again in the earth.
In his time shall Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell
without fear. And this is the name that they shall call him: even
the Lord our righteous maker. And therefore behold, the time cometh,
saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said: the Lord liveth,
which brought forth, and led the seed of the house of Israel, out of
the North land, and from all countries where I had scattered them,
and they shall dwell in their own land again.
My heart breaketh in my body because of the false prophets,
all my bones shake: I am like a drunken man ( that by the reason of
wine I can take no rest ) for very fear of the Lord, and of his holy
words: Because the land is full of *advouters, where through it is
destroyed and mourneth, and the pleasant pastures of the desert are
dried up. Yee the way that men take, is wicked, and their governance
is nothing like the holy word of the Lord. For the prophets and the
priests themselves are polluted *ipocrites, and their wickedness
have I found in my house, sayeth the Lord. Wherefore, their way
shall be slippery in the darkness, wherein they may stagger and
fall. For I will bring a plague upon them, even the year of their
visitation, saith the Lord. I have seen folly among the Prophets of
Samaria, that they preached for Baal, and deceived my people of
Israel.
I have seen also among the Prophets of Jerusalem foul **advoutry,
and presumptuous lies. They take the most shameful men by the hand,
flattering them, so that they can not return from their wickedness.
All these with their citizens are unto me, as Sodom, and as the
inhabitors of Gomorre.
Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts concerning the
prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them
drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is the
sickness of hypocrisy come in to all the land.
And therefore the Lord of Hosts giveth you this warning: Hear
not the words of the prophets, that preach unto you, and deceive
you: for they speak the meaning of their own heart, and not out of
the mouth of the Lord. They say unto them, that despise me: The Lord
hath spoken it: Tush, ye shall prosper right well. And unto all
them, that walk after the lusts of their own heart, they say: Tush ,
there shall no misfortune happen you. For who hath sitten in the
counsel of the Lord, that he hath heard and understand, what he is
about to do? Who hath marked his devise, and heard it? Behold, the
stormy weather of the Lord, that is, his indignation, shall go
forth, and shall fall down upon the head of the ungodly. And the
wrath of the Lord shall not turn away again, until he perform and
fulfil the thought of his heart. And in the latter days ye shall
know his meaning.
I have not sent these Prophets ( sayeth the Lord ) and yet
they ran. I have not spoken to them, and yet they preached. But if
they had continued in my counsel and heard my words: they had turned
my people from their evil ways and wicked imaginations. Am I then
God that seeth but the thing, which is nye at hand, and not that is
afar off? sayeth the Lord. May any man hideth himself so, that I
shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fulfill heaven and
earth? saith the Lord. I have heard well enough, what the prophets
say, that preach lies in my name, saying: I have dreamed, I have
dreamed. How long will this continue in the prophets hearts, to tell
lies, and to preach the crafty subtlety of their own heart? Whose
purpose is ( with the dreams that everyone tell ) to make my people
to forget my name, as their forefathers did, when Baal came up. The
prophet that hath a dream, let him tell it: and he that
understandeth my word, let him show it faithfully.
For what hath chaff and wheat to do together? saith the Lord.
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like an hammer,
that breaketh the hard stone? Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord:
behold, I will upon the prophets, that steal my word privately from
every man. Behold, here am I ( saith the Lord ) against the
prophets, that take upon their tongues to speak: The Lord hath said
it. Behold here am I ( sayeth the Lord ) against those prophets,
that dare prophecy lies, and deceive my people with their vanities,
and miracles, whom I never sent, ner commanded them. They shall do
this people great harm, sayeth the Lord.
If this people, either any prophet or a priest ask thee, and
say: What is the burden of the Lord? Thou shalt say unto them: What
burden? Therefore will I cast you from me ( saith the Lord ) because
ye yourselves are a burden. And that prophet, priest, or people,
that useth this term ( the burden of the Lord ) him I will visit,
and his house also.
But thus shall ye say, every one to another: What answer hath
the Lord given? or what is the Lords commandment? And as for this
burden of the Lord, ye shall speak no more of it: for every mans own
word is his burden, because ye have altered the words of the living
God the Lord of Hosts our God.
Thus shall every man say to the Prophets: what answer hath the
Lord given? thee? Or, what sayeth the Lord? And not once to name the
burden of the Lord. Therefore thus sayeth the lord: For so much as
ye have used this term (the burden of the Lord) where as I not
withstanding sent unto you, and forbade you to speak of the Lords
burden.
Behold therefore, I will repute you as a burden, and will cast
you out of my presence: yee and the city also, that I gave you and
your fathers: and will bring you to an everlasting confusion, and in
such a shame, as shall never be forgotten.
*advouters: prefix "a" meaning not or
without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to
something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery
*ipocrites, (hypocrites) Here we see **advoutry is manifest with
presumptuous (arrogant) lies,
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Chapter 24
The Lord showed me a vision,
Behold, there stood two *maundes of figs before the Temple of the
Lord, after that Nebuchodonosor king of Babylon had led away captive
Jechoniah the son of Jehoakim king of Judah, the mighty men also of
Judah, the workmasters, and conning men of Jerusalem, unto Babylon.
In the one *maunde were very good figs, even like as those that be
first ripe. In the other maunde were very naughty figs, which might
not be eaten, they were so evil. Then said the Lord unto me: What
seest thou Jeremie? I said: figs, whereof some be very good, and
some so evil, that no man may eat them.
Then came the word of the Lord unto me, after this manner:
Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: like as thou knowest the good
figs, so shall I know the men led away, whom I have sent out of this
place into the land of the Caldees, for their profit: and I will set
mine eyes upon them for the best, for I will bring them again in to
this land: I will build them up, and not break them down: I will
plant them, and not root them out. And I will give them an heart, to
know, how that I am the Lord. They shall be my people, and I will be
their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
And like as thou knowest the naughty figs, which may not be
eaten, they are so evil: Even so will I ( saith the Lord ) let
Zedekiah the King of Judah, ( ye and all his princes, and the
residue of Jerusalem that remain over this land, and them also that
dwell in Egypt) to be vexed and plagued in all kingdoms and lands.
And will make them to be a reproof, a common byword, a laughing
stock and shame, in all the places, where I shall scatter them. I
will send the sword, hunger and pestilence among them, until I have
clean consumed them out of the land, that I gave unto them and to
their fathers.
*maundes (baskets)
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Chapter 25
A Sermon that was given unto
Jeremie, upon all the people of Judah: In the fourth year of
Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was, in the first
year of Nebuchodonosor king of Babylon. Which sermon, Jeremie the
prophet made unto all the people of Judah, and to all the
inhabitantors of Jerusalem, on this manner.
From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of
Judah, unto this present day, ( that is even twenty three year ) the
word of the Lord hath been committed unto me. And so I have spoken
unto you, I have risen up early, I have given you warning in season,
but you would not hear me. Though the Lord hath sent his servants,
all the prophets unto you in season: Yet would ye not obey, ye would
not incline your ears to hear.
He said: turn again every man from his evil way, and from your
wicked imaginations, and so shall ye dwell for ever in the land,
that the Lord promised you and your forefathers: And go not after
strange gods, serve them not, and anger me with the works of your
hands: then will I not punish you. Nevertheless, ye would not hear
me ( saith the Lord ) but have defiled me with the works of your
hands, to your own great harm.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Because, ye have not
hearkened unto my word, Lo, I will send out, and call for all the
people, that dwelleth in the North, saith the Lord, and will prepare
Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant, and will bring them
upon this land, and upon all that dwell therin, and upon all the
people that are about them, and will utterly root them out. I will
make of them a wilderness, a mocking, and a continual desert.
Moreover, I will take from them the voice of gladness and
solace, the voice of the bridegroom, and the bride, the voice of the
anointed, with the *cresshettes : and this whole land shall become a
wilderness, and they shall serve the said people and the king of
Babylon, *three score years and ten. When the seventy years are
expired, I will visit also the wickedness of the king of Babylon and
his people saith the Lord: yee and the land of the Caldees, and will
make it a perpetual wilderness, and will fulfil all my words upon
that land which I have devised against it: yee all that is written
in this book, which Jeremie hath prophesied of all people: so that
they also shall be subdued unto diverse nations and great kings, for
I will recompense them, according to their deeds and works of their
own hands.
For thus hath the Lord God of Israel spoken unto me: Take this
wine cup of indignation from my hand, that thou mayest cause all the
people, to whom I send thee, for to drink of it: that when they have
drunken thereof, they may be mad, and out of their wits, when the
sword cometh, that I will send among them. Then took I the cup from
the Lords hand, and made all the people drink thereof, unto whom the
Lord had sent me. But first the city of Jerusalem, and all the
cities of Judah, their kings and princes: to make them desolate,
waste, despised and cursed according as it is come to pass this day.
Yee and Pharao the king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and his
people altogether one with another and all the kings of the land of
Huz, all the kings of the Philistines land, Ascalon, Azah, Accaron
and the remnant of Asood, the Edomites, the Moabites, and the
Ammonites: all the kings of Tirus, and Sidon: the kings of the
Isles, that are beyond the sea, Dedan, Thema, Buz and the shaven
Ismaelites: all the kings of Araby, and ( generally ) all the kings
that dwell in the desert: all the kings of Zamri, all the Kings of
Elam, all the kings of the Meedes, all kings towards the north,
whether they be far or nye, everyone with his neighbors: Yee and all
the kingdoms that are upon the whole earth. The king of Sezach, said
he, shall drink with them also.
And said thou unto them: This is the commandment of the Lord
of hosts the God of Israel: Drink and be drunken, spue and fall,
that ye never rise: and that through the sword, which I will send
among you. But if they will no receive the cup of thy hand, and
drink it, then tell them: Thus doth the Lord of Hosts threaten you:
drink it ye shall, and that shortly. For lo, I bring a plague to the
city, that my name is given unto: think ye then, that I will leave
you unpunished? Ye shall not go quiet. For why, I call for a sword
upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.
Therefore tell them all these words, and say unto them: The
Lord shall cry from above, and let his voice be heard from his holy
habitation. With a great noise shall he cry from his court regal. He
shall give a great voice ( like the grape gatherers ) and the sound
thereof shall be heard unto the ends of the world. For the Lord hath
a judgement to give upon all people, and will hold his court of
justice with all flesh and punish the ungodly, saith the Lord.
For thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Behold, a miserable plague
shall go from one people to another, and a great stormy water shall
arise from all the ends of the earth. And the same day shall the
Lord himself slay them, from one end of the earth to another. There
shall no moan be made for any of them, none gathered up, none
buried: but shall lie as dung upon the ground.
Mourn ( O ye shepherds ) and cry: sprinkle yourselves with
ashes, O ye rams or the flock: for the time of your slaughter is
fulfilled, and ye shall fall like vessels conningly made for
pleasure.
The shepherds shall have no way to flee, and the rams of the
flock shall not escape. Then shall the shepherds cry horribly, and
the rams of the flock shall mourn: for the Lord shall consume their
pasture, and their best fields shall lie dead because of the
horrible wrath of the Lord. They shall forsake their folds like an
lion: for their land shall be waste, because of the wrath of the
destroyer, and because of his fearful indignation.
*cresshettes (torch) *three score years and ten (70).
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Chapter 26
In the beginning
of the reign of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this
word from the Lord, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Stand in the court
of the Lords house, and speak unto all them which ( out of the
cities of Juda ) come to worship in the Lords house, all the words
that I command thee to say. Look that thou keep not one word back,
if ( peradventure ) they will hearken, and turn every man from his
wicked way: that I may also repent of the plague, which I have
determined to bring upon them, because of their wicked inventions.
And after this manner thou shalt speak unto them: Thus saith
the Lord: If ye will not obey me, to walk in my laws, which I have
given you, and to hear the words of my servants the prophets, whom I
sent unto you, rising up timely, and still sending: If ye will not
follow them ( I say ) then will I do to this house, as I did unto
Siloh, and will make this city to be abhorred of all the people of
the earth. And the priests, the prophets and all the people heard
Jeremie preach these words, in the house of the Lord.
Now when he had spoken out all the words, that the Lord had
commanded him to preach unto all the people, then the priests, the
prophets and all the people took hold upon him, and said: Thou shalt
die. How darest thou be so bold, as to say in the name of the Lord:
it shall happen to this house as it did unto Siloh? And this city
shall be so waste, that no man shall dwell therin?
And when all the people were gathered about Jeremie in the
house of the Lord, the princes of Judah heard of this rumor and they
came soon out of the kings Palace in to the house of the Lord, and
sat them down before the new door of the Lord. Then spake the
priests and the prophets unto the rulers and to all the people,
these words: This man is worthy to die, for he hath preached against
this city, as ye yourselves have heard with your ears.
Then said Jeremie unto the rulers and to all the people: The
Lord hath sent me to preach against this house and against this city
all the words that ye have heard. Therefore amend your ways, and
your advisements, and be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your
God: so shall the Lord repent of the plague, that he had devised
against you. Now as for me: I am in your hands, do with me, as ye
think expedient and good. But this shall ye know: if ye put me to
death, ye shall make yourselves, this city, and all the inhabitors
thereof, guilty of innocent blood. For this is of a truth: that the
Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all these words in your ears.
Then said the rules and the people unto the priests and to the
prophets: This man may not be condemned to death, for he hath
preached unto us in the name of the Lord our God. The Elders also of
the land stood up, and said thus unto all the people: Micheah the
Morasthite, which was a prophet under Ezekiah king of Judah, spake
to all the people of Judah, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Sion shall
be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall be an heap of stones, and
the hill of the Lords house shall be turned to an high wood. Did
Ezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah put him to death for
this? No verily, but rather feared the Lord, and made their prayer
unto him. For the which cause also the Lord repented of the plague,
that he had devised against them. Should we then do such a shameful
deed against our souls? There was a prophet also, that preached
stiffly in the name of the Lord, called Urijah the son of Semeiah of
Cariathiarim: this man preached also against this city and against
this land, according to all as Jeremie sayeth. Now when Jehoakim the
king with all the estate and princes had heard his words, the king
went about to slay him. When Uriah perceived that, he was afraid,
and fled, and departed into Egypt.
Then Jehoakim the king sent servants in to the land of Egypt,
Namely, Elnathan the son of Achabor, and certain men with him into
Egypt. which fetched Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him unto king
Jehoakim that slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into
the common peoples grave But Ahikam the son of Saphan helped Jeremie,
that he came not into the hands of the people to be slain.
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Chapter 27
In the beginning of the reign of
Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word unto
Jeremie from the Lord, which spake thus unto me: Make thee bonds and
chains, and put them about thy neck, and send them to the King of
Edom, the King of Moab, the King of the Ammon, the King of Tyrus,
and to the King of Sidon: and that by the messengers, which come to
Jerusalem unto Zedekiah the King of Judah, and bid them say unto
their masters: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel, speak
thus unto your masters: I am he that made the earth, the men, and
the cattle that are upon the ground, with my great power and
outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it pleased me. And now
will I deliver all these lands into the power of Nabuchodonosor the
King of Babylon, my servant. The beasts also of the field shall I
give him to do him service. And all people shall serve him, and his
son, and his childs children, until the time of the same land be
come also: yee many people and great kings shall serve him.
Moreover, that people and Kingdom which will not serve
Nabuchodonosor, and that will not put their necks under the yoke of
the King of Babylon, the same people will I visit with the sword,
with hunger, with the pestilence, until I have consumed them in his
hands, sayeth the Lord. And therefore follow not your Prophets,
soothsayers, expounders of dreams, charmers and witches, which say
unto you: Ye shall not serve the King of Babylon. For they preach
you lies: to bring you far from your land, and that I might cast you
out, and destroy you. But the people that put their necks under the
yoke of the King of Babylon, and serve him, those I will let remain
still in their own land ( saith the Lord ) and they shall occupy it,
and dwell therein.
All these things told I Zedekiah the King of Judah, and said:
Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him
and his people, that ye may live. Why wilt thou and thy people
perish with the sword, with hunger, with pestilence: like as the
Lord hath devised for all people, that will not serve the King of
Babylon? Therefore give no ear unto those Prophets ( that tell you:
Ye shall not serve the King of Babylon? ) for they preach you lies,
neither have I sent them, saith the Lord: how be it they are bold,
falsely to prophesy in my name: that I might the sooner drive you
out, and that ye might perish with your preachers. I spake to the
Priests also, and to all the people: Thus saith the Lord: Hear not
to the words of those Prophets, the vessels of the Lords house shall
shortly be brought hither again from Babylon: For they prophesy lies
unto you. Hear them not, but serve the King of Babylon, that ye may
live. Wherefore will ye make this city to be destroyed? But if they
be true Prophets in very deed, and if the word of the Lord be
committed unto them, then let them pray the Lord of Hosts, that the
remnant of the ornaments (which are in the house of the Lord, and
remain yet in the house of the King of Judah and at Jerusalem ) be
not carried to Babylon also. For thus hath the Lord of Hosts spoken
concerning the pillars, the *laver, the seat and the residue of the
ornaments that yet remain in this city, which Nabuchodonosor the
King of Babylon took not, when he carried away Jechoniah the son of
Jehoakim King of Judah, with all the power of Juda and Jerusalem,
from Jerusalem unto Babylon, captivity.
Yee thus hath the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel spoken, as
touching the residue of the ornaments of the Lords house of the king
of Judahs house, and of Jerusalem: They shall be carried unto
Babylon, and there they shall remain, until I visit them, saith the
Lord. Then will I bring them hither again. And this was done in the
same year: even in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of
Juda.
*laver (large basin),
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Chapters
1-6 |
7-13
| 14-21 |
22-27
| 28-32 |
33-39
| 40-47 |
48-end
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