You will have to go away
1The Lord says:
‘No one can take away or wipe out
the sins of the people of Judah.
It is written on their hard hearts
and on the horns_of_the_altar
like people cut out names on stone
with a pen that has a diamond point.
2Their children remember the altars
for their idols and their sacred_pillars
at the green trees on the high hills
and on all the mountains of the land.
3I will take everything you have,
all your beautiful things,
and give it to your enemies,
because you built altars to bring offerings
to idols all over the land and you have sinned.
4You will have to go away
from the land that I gave you,
and I will make you work for your enemies
in a land that you do not know,
because I am angry with you.
It is like a fire that will always keep on burning.’
The Lord curses and He blesses
5The Lord says:
‘I curse everyone who turns away from Me,
everyone who thinks that a man
who can die can help him
and make him strong.
6Someone like that will become
like a bush in a dry desert,
a bush that is always in the hot sun
and tries to grow in a stone desert,
in salty ground where nothing can live.
7But I bless everyone
who believes that I, the Lord,
will help him and protect him.
8Someone like that will be
like a tree near the water.
Its roots go to the water stream,
and it doesn't feel the heat when it becomes hot.
Its leaves are always green,
and when it does not rain,
the tree is not worried,
because it will always have fruit.’
People who deceive others will lose everything
9People's minds deceive
themselves and other people.
Their minds are sick and difficult to understand.
10But I, the Lord,
look into the minds and hearts of people
and I see what they
think and what they want to do,
and I will punish them
for the bad things they do.
11A person who becomes rich
because he cheats other people
is like a bird that steals eggs to hatch.
A person who does that
will lose everything he has.
He will lose it before he gets old
and he will die like a fool.
People who turn away from God will suffer
12From the beginning, the temple
is the throne of God on the mountain.
13‘Lord, You are God,
and the Israelites hope
that You will save them.
People who turn away from You
will suffer. You write down their names
and they will die because they
went away from You, who give life.
You are like a fountain that always
has water and that gives life to people.’
Jeremiah asks God to punish his enemies
14‘Lord, if You heal me,
I will be healthy,
and if You save me, all will be well with me.
That is why I praise You.
15You listen to what people say.
They ask me:
“If the Lord has sent you to talk to us,
when will these things that you say happen?”
16Lord, I did not run away
from the work that You gave me.
I said I would be a shepherd for your people.
I don't want that bad day to come soon,
the day when You will punish the people.
You know what I said. You saw my lips.
17Please don't let me become afraid of You.
I want to come to You and
be safe with You in times of trouble.
18Make my enemies ashamed,
but don't bring shame on me.
Let them all become afraid
but don't let me be afraid.
Please start punishing them,
and make them suffer a lot.’
The Sabbath day
19The Lord talked to me and He said: ‘Jeremiah, go and stand at the People's Gate in Jerusalem, where the kings_of_Judah go in and out. Then you must also go and stand in all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20You must say to the people: “Kings_of_Judah and all the people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who goes through these gates, you must listen to what the Lord says. 21The Lord says: If you want to live, you must be careful not to carry things on the Sabbath day and go through these gates of Jerusalem. 22Do not carry anything from your house or do your work on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath day must be a holy day as I told your forefathers. 23Your forefathers were disobedient, and they did not listen. They were stubborn and did not do what I told them. 24Now you must listen carefully: Do not carry anything through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and don't do your work on the Sabbath day. It must be a holy day for you. 25If you listen to Me, then kings and princes will come through these gates and they will rule on the throne of David. They will ride on war-chariots and horses, they and their officials and the people of Judah and the people who live in Jerusalem. Then there will always be people living in this city. 26They will come from the cities of Judah, from places near Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowlands, from the hill_country and the Negev. They will bring offerings to the temple: burnt-offerings, grain-offerings and incense-offerings, and they will sing and thank the Lord. 27But if you don't listen to Me and if you carry things through these gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set the city on fire and burn it down. The city of Jerusalem with strong walls will burn and the fire will keep on burning.” ’
