Day 275 of 365

¹"I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me. I was near to those who did not seek me. I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that did not call on my name.

²I have spread out my hands all the day to a disobedient and obstinate people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;

³a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense on bricks;

⁴who sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and the broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

⁵who say, Stand by yourself, do not come near to me, for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day.

⁶"Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yes, I will recompense into their bosom,

⁷your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together," says the Lord, "who have burned incense on the mountains, and blasphemed me on the hills; therefore will I first measure their work into their bosom."

⁸Thus says the Lord, "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it:' so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all.

⁹I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

¹⁰Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought me.

¹¹"But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;

¹²I will destine you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight."

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be disappointed;

¹⁴behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit.

¹⁵You shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen; and the Lord God will kill you; and he will call his servants by another name:

¹⁶so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.

¹⁷"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

¹⁸But be you glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.

²⁰"There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

²¹They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

²²They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

²³They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

²⁴It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

²⁵The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain," says the Lord.

¹Thus says the Lord, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of house will you build to me? And what place shall be my rest?

²For all these things has my hand made, and so all these things came to be," says the Lord: "but to this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.

³He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:

⁴I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight."

⁵Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: "Your brothers who hate you, who cast you out for my name's sake, have said, 'Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy;' but it is those who shall be disappointed.

⁶A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that renders recompense to his enemies.

⁷"Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she delivered a son.

⁸Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

⁹Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?" says the Lord: "Shall I who cause to bring forth shut the womb?" says your God.

¹⁰"Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her: rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;

¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory."

¹²For thus says the Lord, "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and you will nurse. You will be carried on her side, and will be dandled on her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

¹⁴You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For by fire will the Lord execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

¹⁷"Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the gardens, behind one in the midst, eating pig's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together," says the Lord.

¹⁸"For I know their works and their thoughts: the time comes, that I will gather all nations and languages; and they shall come, and shall see my glory.

¹⁹"I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the islands afar off, who have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

²⁰They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

²¹Of them also will I take for priests and for Levites," says the Lord.

²²"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me," says the Lord, "so your seed and your name shall remain.

²³It shall happen, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me," says the Lord.

²⁴"They shall go forth, and look on the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵"Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

⁶Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak; for I am a child."

⁷But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a child;' for to whoever I shall send you, you shall go, and whatever I shall command you, you shall speak.

⁸Do not be afraid because of them; for I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

¹⁰Behold, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."

¹²Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it."

¹³The word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a boiling caldron; and it is tipping away from the north."

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, "Out of the north evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the Lord; "and they shall come, and they shall each set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

¹⁷"You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.

¹⁸For, behold, I have made you this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

¹⁹They will fight against you; but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you," says the Lord, "to deliver you."

¹Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which can't be moved, but remains forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forevermore.

³For the scepter of wickedness won't remain over the allotment of the righteous; so that the righteous won't use their hands to do evil.

⁴Do good, Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in their hearts.

⁵But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, The Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel.

¹Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

²Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend; although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

⁷A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man's friend.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend. Do not go to your brother's house in the day of your disaster: better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.

¹²A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

¹³Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!

¹⁴He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.

¹⁵A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:

¹⁶restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend's countenance.

¹⁸Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man's eyes are never satisfied.

²¹The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

²²Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

²³Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:

²⁴for riches are not forever, nor does even the crown endure to all generations.

²⁵The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.

²⁶The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.

²⁷There will be plenty of goats' milk for your food, for your family's food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.