Day 295 of 730

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

³"From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened.

⁴The Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear)

⁵saying, 'Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forevermore;

⁶and do not go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no harm.

⁷Yet you have not listened to me,' says the Lord; 'that you may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.'

⁸Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Because you have not heard my words,

⁹behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the Lord, 'and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

¹¹This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹²It shall happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever.

¹³I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

¹⁴For many nations and great kings shall make bondservants of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.'"

¹⁵For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to me: "Take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.

¹⁶They shall drink, and reel back and forth, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them."

¹⁷Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom the Lord had sent me:

¹⁸Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;

¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

²⁰and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

²¹Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon;

²²and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;

²³Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who have the corners of their beard cut off;

²⁴and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness;

²⁵and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;

²⁶and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷"You shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you."'

²⁸It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "You shall surely drink.

²⁹For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,"' says the Lord of hosts.

³⁰Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and tell them, 'The Lord will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold; he will give a shout, as those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword,' says the Lord.

³²'Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great storm shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.'

³³The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

³⁴Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow in dust, you principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and you shall fall like a goodly vessel.

³⁵The shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! For the Lord lays waste their pasture.

³⁷The peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

³⁸He has left his covert, as the lion; for their land has become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppression, and because of his fierce anger."

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from the Lord, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not diminish a word.

³It may be they will listen, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may relent of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings.

⁴You shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

⁵to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened;

⁶then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.'"

⁷The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

⁸It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, "You shall surely die.

⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant?'" All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house.

¹¹Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, "This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears."

¹²Then spoke Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying, "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.

¹³Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.

¹⁴But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes.

¹⁵Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for of a truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears."

¹⁶Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: "This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God."

¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸"Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest."'

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord, and entreat the favor of the Lord, and the Lord relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls.

²⁰"There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

²¹and when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt:

²²and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt;

²³and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people."

²⁴But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

¹ALEPH I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever.

²Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever and ever.

³Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised! His greatness is unsearchable.

⁴One generation will commend your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts.

⁵Of the glorious majesty of your honor, of your wondrous works, I will meditate.

⁶Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts. I will declare your greatness.

⁷They will utter the memory of your great goodness, and will sing of your righteousness.

⁸The Lord is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.

⁹The Lord is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.

¹⁰All your works will give thanks to you, Lord. Your holy ones will extol you.

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power;

¹²to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. the Lord is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.

¹⁵The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season.

¹⁶You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.

¹⁸The Lord is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

²⁰The Lord preserves all those who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

¹The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weighs the motives.

³Commit your deeds to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed.

⁴The Lord has made everything for its own end- yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: they shall certainly not be unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

⁷When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.

⁹A man's heart plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

¹⁰Inspired judgments are on the lips of the king. He shall not betray his mouth.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to do wrong, for the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.

¹⁴The king's wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

¹⁵In the light of the king's face is life. His favor is like a cloud of the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the plunder with the proud.

²⁰He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in the Lord is blessed.

²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent. Pleasantness of the lips promotes instruction.

²²Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

²⁶The appetite of the laboring man labors for him; for his mouth urges him on.

²⁷A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰One who winks his eyes to plot perversities, one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.