The Message (MSG)

Demolish, and Then Start Over

1-4 The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin.God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is whatGodsaid:

5 “Before I shaped you in the womb,

I knew all about you.

Before you saw the light of day,

I had holy plans for you:

A prophet to the nations—

that’s what I had in mind for you.”

6 But I said, “Hold it, MasterGod! Look at me.

I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

7-8 Godtold me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’

I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.

I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.

Don’t be afraid of a soul.

I’ll be right there, looking after you.”

God’s Decree.

9-10 Godreached out, touched my mouth, and said,

“Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!

See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do

among nations and governments—a red-letter day!

Your job is to pull up and tear down,

take apart and demolish,

And then start over,

building and planting.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece

11-12 God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”

AndGodsaid, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.

I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

13-15 God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”

I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”

ThenGodtold me, “Disaster will pour out of the north

on everyone living in this land.

Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”

God’s Decree.

15-16 “They’ll come and set up headquarters

facing Jerusalem’s gates,

Facing all the city walls,

facing all the villages of Judah.

I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah

for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—

And courting other gods with their offerings,

worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

17 “But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!

Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.

Don’t pull your punches

or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

18-19 “Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.

I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,

Immovable as a steel post,

solid as a concrete block wall.

You’re a one-man defense system

against this culture,

Against Judah’s kings and princes,

against the priests and local leaders.

They’ll fight you, but they won’t

even scratch you.

I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”

God’s Decree.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/1-980e8039c0b90238a6ff307b4fbb2bd0.mp3?version_id=97—

Israel Was God’s Holy Choice

1-3 God’s Message came to me. It went like this:

“Get out in the streets and call to Jerusalem,

‘God’s Message!

I remember your youthful loyalty,

our love as newlyweds.

You stayed with me through the wilderness years,

stuck with me through all the hard places.

Israel wasGod’s holy choice,

the pick of the crop.

Anyone who laid a hand on her

would soon wish he hadn’t!’”

God’s Decree.

4-6 HearGod’s Message, House of Jacob!

Yes, you—House of Israel!

God’s Message: “What did your ancestors find fault with in me

that they drifted so far from me,

Took up with Sir Windbag

and turned into windbags themselves?

It never occurred to them to say, ‘Where’sGod,

the God who got us out of Egypt,

Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble

wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys,

A land that no one who enters comes out of,

a cruel, inhospitable land?’

7-8 “I brought you to a garden land

where you could eat lush fruit.

But you barged in and polluted my land,

trashed and defiled my dear land.

The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’sGod?’

The religion experts knew nothing of me.

The rulers defied me.

The prophets preached god Baal

And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

9-11 “Because of all this, I’m bringing charges against you”

—God’s Decree—

“charging you and your children and your grandchildren.

Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this?

Sail to the western islands and look.

Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look.

Look closely. Has this ever happened before,

That a nation has traded in its gods

for gods that aren’t even close to gods?

But my people have traded my Glory

for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

12-13 “Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see!

Throw up your hands in disbelief—this can’t be!”

God’s Decree.

“My people have committed a compound sin:

they’ve walked out on me, the fountain

Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns—

cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves.

14-17 “Isn’t Israel a valued servant,

born into a family with place and position?

So how did she end up a piece of meat

fought over by snarling and roaring lions?

There’s nothing left of her but a few old bones,

her towns trashed and deserted.

Egyptians from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have broken your skulls.

And why do you think all this has happened?

Isn’t it because you walked out on your God

just as he was beginning to lead you in the right way?

18-19 “And now, what do you think you’ll get by going off to Egypt?

Maybe a cool drink of Nile River water?

Or what do you think you’ll get by going off to Assyria?

Maybe a long drink of Euphrates River water?

Your evil ways will get you a sound thrashing, that’s what you’ll get.

You’ll pay dearly for your disloyal ways.

Take a long, hard look at what you’ve done and its bitter results.

Was it worth it to have walked out on your God?”

God’s Decree, MasterGod-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Addicted to Alien Gods

20-22 “A long time ago you broke out of the harness.

You shook off all restraints.

You said, ‘I will not serve!’

and off you went,

Visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way,

like a common whore.

You were a select vine when I planted you

from completely reliable stock.

And look how you’ve turned out—

a tangle of rancid growth, a poor excuse for a vine.

Scrub, using the strongest soaps.

Scour your skin raw.

The sin-grease won’t come out. I can’t stand to even look at you!”

God’s Decree, the Master’s Decree.

23-24 “How dare you tell me, ‘I’m not stained by sin.

I’ve never chased after the Baal sex gods’!

Well, look at the tracks you’ve left behind in the valley.

How do you account for what is written in the desert dust—

Tracks of a camel in heat, running this way and that,

tracks of a wild donkey in rut,

Sniffing the wind for the slightest scent of sex.

Who could possibly corral her!

On the hunt for sex, sex, and more sex—

insatiable, indiscriminate, promiscuous.

25 “Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?

Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?

But you say, ‘I can’t help it.

I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’

26-28 “Just as a thief is chagrined, but only when caught,

so the people of Israel are chagrined,

Caught along with their kings and princes,

their priests and prophets.

They walk up to a tree and say, ‘My father!’

They pick up a stone and say, ‘My mother! You bore me!’

All I ever see of them is their backsides.

They never look me in the face.

But when things go badly, they don’t hesitate to come running,

calling out, ‘Get a move on! Save us!’

Why not go to your handcrafted gods you’re so fond of?

Rouse them. Let them save you from your bad times.

You’ve got more gods, Judah,

than you know what to do with.

Trying Out Another Sin-Project

29-30 “What do you have against me,

running off to assert your ‘independence’?”

God’s Decree.

“I’ve wasted my time trying to train your children.

They’ve paid no attention to me, ignored my discipline.

And you’ve gotten rid of your God-messengers,

treating them like dirt and sweeping them away.

31-32 “What a generation you turned out to be!

Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I warn you?

Have I let you down, Israel?

Am I nothing but a dead-end street?

Why do my people say, ‘Good riddance!

From now on we’re on our own’?

Young women don’t forget their jewelry, do they?

Brides don’t show up without their veils, do they?

But my people forget me.

Day after day after day they never give me a thought.

33-35 “What an impressive start you made

to get the most out of life.

You founded schools of sin,

taught graduate courses in evil!

And now you’re sending out graduates, resplendent in cap and gown—

except the gowns are stained with the blood of your victims!

All that blood convicts you.

You cut and hurt a lot of people to get where you are.

And yet you have the gall to say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.

God doesn’t mind. He hasn’t punished me, has he?’

Don’t look now, but judgment’s on the way,

aimed at you who say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

36-37 “You think it’s just a small thing, don’t you,

to try out another sin-project when the first one fails?

But Egypt will leave you in the lurch

the same way that Assyria did.

You’re going to walk away from there

wringing your hands.

I,God, have blacklisted those you trusted.

You’ll get not a lick of help from them.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/2-75b7e0ef2f45aabdd26a0aa34414484c.mp3?version_id=97—

Your Sex-and-Religion Obsessions

1 God’s Message came to me as follows:

“If a man’s wife

walks out on him

And marries another man,

can he take her back as if nothing had happened?

Wouldn’t that raise a huge stink

in the land?

And isn’t that what you’ve done—

‘whored’ your way with god after god?

And now you want to come back as if nothing had happened.”

God’s Decree.

2-5 “Look around at the hills.

Where have younothad sex?

You’ve camped out like hunters stalking deer.

You’ve solicited many lover-gods,

Like a streetwalking whore

chasing after other gods.

And so the rain has stopped.

No more rain from the skies!

But it doesn’t even faze you. Brazen as whores,

you carry on as if you’ve done nothing wrong.

Then you have the nerve to call out, ‘My father!

You took care of me when I was a child. Why not now?

Are you going to keep up your anger nonstop?’

That’s your line. Meanwhile you keep sinning nonstop.”

Admit Your God-Defiance

6-10 Godspoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.”God’s Decree.

11-12 ThenGodtold me, “Fickle Israel was a good sight better than flighty Judah. Go and preach this message. Face north toward Israel and say:

12-15 “‘Turn back, fickle Israel.

I’m not just hanging back to punish you.

I’m committed in love to you.

My anger doesn’t seethe nonstop.

Just admit your guilt.

Admit your God-defiance.

Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners,

pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves

While turning a deaf ear to me.’”

God’s Decree.

“Come back, wandering children!”

God’s Decree.

“I, yes I, am your true husband.

I’ll pick you out one by one—

This one from the city, these two from the country—

and bring you to Zion.

I’ll give you good shepherd-rulers who rule my way,

who rule you with intelligence and wisdom.

16 “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.

17 “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honorGod.

18 “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors.

19-20 “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:

‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.

I’ll give you choice land,

land that the godless nations would die for.’

And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’

and would never again go off and leave me.

But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,

you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”

God’s Decree.

21-22 The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills,

the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying,

Israel lamenting the wasted years,

never once giving her God a thought.

“Come back, wandering children!

I can heal your wanderlust!”

22-25 “We’re here! We’ve come back to you.

You’re our own trueGod!

All that popular religion was a cheap lie,

duped crowds buying up the latest in gods.

We’re back! Back to our trueGod,

the salvation of Israel.

The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us

of what our ancestors bequeathed us,

Gypped us out of our inheritance—

God-blessed flocks and God-given children.

We made our bed and now lie in it,

all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor.

All because we sinned against ourGod,

we and our fathers and mothers.

From the time we took our first steps, said our first words,

we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of ourGod.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/3-6e653c439a0bd32f4c8a3283faf621db.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 “If you want to come back, O Israel,

you must really come back to me.

You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia

and not wander away from me anymore.

Then you can say words like, ‘AsGodlives . . . ’

and have them mean something true and just and right.

And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessing

and find something in Israel to write home about.”

3-4 Here’s another Message fromGod

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Plow your unplowed fields,

but then don’t plant weeds in the soil!

Yes, circumcise yourlivesfor God’s sake.

Plow your unplowed hearts,

all you people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Prevent fire—the fire of my anger—

for once it starts it can’t be put out.

Your wicked ways

are fuel for the fire.

God’s Sledgehammer Anger

5-8 “Sound the alarm in Judah,

broadcast the news in Jerusalem.

Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’

Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!—

‘Close ranks!

Run for your lives to the shelters!’

Send up a flare warning Zion:

‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’

Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off!

When it lands, it will shake the foundations.

Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover,

ready to rip nations to shreds,

Leaving your land in wrack and ruin,

your cities in rubble, abandoned.

Dress in funereal black.

Weep and wail,

ForGod’s sledgehammer anger

has slammed into us head-on.

9 “When this happens”

—God’s Decree—

“King and princes will lose heart;

priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded.”

10 Then I said, “Alas, MasterGod!

You’ve fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem.

You assured them, ‘All is well, don’t worry,’

at the very moment when the sword was at their throats.”

11-12 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem,

will be told in plain words:

“The northern hordes are sweeping in

from the desert steppes—

A wind that’s up to no good, a gale-force wind.

I ordered this wind.

I’m pronouncing

my hurricane judgment on my people.”

Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart

13-14 Look at them! Like banks of storm clouds,

racing, tumbling, their chariots a tornado,

Their horses faster than eagles!

Woe to us! We’re done for!

Jerusalem! Scrub the evil from your lives

so you’ll be fit for salvation.

How much longer will you harbor

devious and malignant designs within you?

15-17 What’s this? A messenger from Dan?

Bad news from Ephraim’s hills!

Make the report public.

Broadcast the news to Jerusalem:

“Invaders from far off are

raising war cries against Judah’s towns.

They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone.

And why? Because she rebelled against me.”

God’s Decree.

18 “It’s the way you’ve lived

that’s brought all this on you.

The bitter taste is from your evil life.

That’s what’s piercing your heart.”

19-21 I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly—

a poker burns in my gut.

My insides are tearing me up,

never a moment’s peace.

The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears,

the signal for all-out war.

Disaster hard on the heels of disaster,

the whole country in ruins!

In one stroke my home is destroyed,

the walls flattened in the blink of an eye.

How long do I have to look at the warning flares,

listen to the siren of danger?

Experts at Evil

22 “What fools my people are!

They have no idea who I am.

A company of half-wits,

dopes and donkeys all!

Experts at evil

but klutzes at good.”

23-26 I looked at the earth—

it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.

I looked at the skies,

and not a star to be seen.

I looked at the mountains—

they were trembling like aspen leaves,

And all the hills

rocking back and forth in the wind.

I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight,

and not a bird to be seen in the skies.

I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.

All the towns were ghost towns.

And all this because ofGod,

because of the blazing anger ofGod.

27-28 Yes, this isGod’s Word on the matter:

“The whole country will be laid waste—

still it won’t be the end of the world.

The earth will mourn

and the skies lament

Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back.

I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.”

You’re Not Going to Seduce Anyone

29 Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!”

and everybody runs for cover.

They hide in ditches,

they climb into caves.

The cities are emptied,

not a person left anywhere.

30-31 And you, what do you think you’re up to?

Dressing up in party clothes,

Decking yourselves out in jewelry,

putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!

Your primping goes for nothing.

You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out tokillyou!

And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor,

the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn.

It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath,

reaching out for help:

“Help, oh help me! I’m dying!

The killers are on me!”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/4-7f5b566e0247fa0068a4877126bed92a.mp3?version_id=97—

Sins Are Piled Sky-High

1-2 “Patrol Jerusalem’s streets.

Look around. Take note.

Search the market squares.

See if you can find one man, one woman,

A single soul who does what is right

and tries to live a true life.

I want to forgive that person.”

God’s Decree.

“But if all they do is say, ‘As sure asGodlives . . . ’

they’re nothing but a bunch of liars.”

3-6 But you,God,

you have an eye for truth, don’t you?

You hit them hard, but it didn’t faze them.

You disciplined them, but they refused correction.

Hardheaded, harder than rock,

they wouldn’t change.

Then I said to myself, “Well, these are just poor people.

They don’t know any better.

They were never taught anything aboutGod.

They never went to prayer meetings.

I’ll find some people from the best families.

I’ll talk to them.

They’ll know what’s going on, the wayGodworks.

They’ll know the score.”

But they were no better! Rebels all!

Off doing their own thing.

The invaders are ready to pounce and kill,

like a mountain lion, a wilderness wolf,

Panthers on the prowl.

The streets aren’t safe anymore.

And why? Because the people’s sins are piled sky-high;

their betrayals are past counting.

7-9 “Why should I even bother with you any longer?

Your children wander off, leaving me,

Taking up with gods

that aren’t even gods.

I satisfied their deepest needs, and then they went off with the ‘sacred’ whores,

left me for orgies in sex shrines!

A bunch of well-groomed, lusty stallions,

each one pawing and snorting for his neighbor’s wife.

Do you think I’m going to stand around and do nothing?”

God’s Decree.

“Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures

against a people like this?

Eyes That Don’t Really Look, Ears That Don’t Really Listen

10-11 “Go down the rows of vineyards and rip out the vines,

but not all of them. Leave a few.

Prune back those vines!

Thatgrowth didn’t come fromGod!

They’ve betrayed me over and over again,

Judah and Israel both.”

God’s Decree.

12-13 “They’ve spread lies aboutGod.

They’ve said, ‘There’s nothing to him.

Nothing bad will happen to us,

neither famine nor war will come our way.

The prophets are all windbags.

They speak nothing but nonsense.’”

14 Therefore, this is whatGodsaid to me,God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Because they have talked this way,

they are going to eat those words.

Watch now! I’m putting my words

as fire in your mouth.

And the people are a pile of kindling

ready to go up in flames.

15-17 “Attention! I’m bringing a far-off nation

against you, O house of Israel.”

God’s Decree.

“A solid nation,

an ancient nation,

A nation that speaks another language.

You won’t understand a word they say.

When they aim their arrows, you’re as good as dead.

They’re a nation of real fighters!

They’ll clean you out of house and home,

rob you of crops and children alike.

They’ll feast on your sheep and cattle,

strip your vines and fig trees.

And the fortresses that made you feel so safe—

leveled with a stroke of the sword!

18-19 “Even then, as bad as it will be”—God’s Decree!—“it will not be the end of the world for you. And when people ask, ‘Why did ourGoddo all this to us?’ you must say to them, ‘It’s tit for tat. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.’

20-25 “Tell the house of Jacob this,

put out this bulletin in Judah:

Listen to this,

you scatterbrains, airheads,

With eyes that see but don’t really look,

and ears that hear but don’t really listen.

Why don’t you honor me?

Why aren’t you in awe before me?

Yes,me, who made the shorelines

to contain the ocean waters.

I drew a line in the sand

that cannot be crossed.

Waves roll in but cannot get through;

breakers crash but that’s the end of them.

But this people—what a people!

Uncontrollable, untameable runaways.

It never occurs to them to say,

‘How can we honor ourGodwith our lives,

The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn

and maintains the rhythm of the seasons,

Who sets aside time each year for harvest

and keeps everything running smoothly for us?’

Of course you don’t! Your bad behavior blinds you to all this.

Your sins keep my blessings at a distance.

To Stand for Nothing and Stand Up for No One

26-29 “My people are infiltrated by wicked men,

unscrupulous men on the hunt.

They set traps for the unsuspecting.

Their victims are innocent men and women.

Their houses are stuffed with ill-gotten gain,

like a hunter’s bag full of birds.

Pretentious and powerful and rich,

hugely obese, oily with rolls of fat.

Worse, they have no conscience.

Right and wrong mean nothing to them.

They stand for nothing, stand up for no one,

throw orphans to the wolves, exploit the poor.

Do you think I’ll stand by and do nothing about this?”

God’s Decree.

“Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures

against a people like this?

30-31 “Unspeakable! Sickening!

What’s happened in this country?

Prophets preach lies

and priests hire on as their assistants.

And my people love it. They eat it up!

But what will you do when it’s time to pick up the pieces?”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/5-5a2d7b6a4135aa6909d0075ec66e4c9f.mp3?version_id=97—