Bible verse by verse

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 15:1-21

Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, yet My heart would not be with this people. Send them out of My sight and let them go away!

And should they say to you at some point, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them that the Lord says,

Those destined to die, can die. Those destined to be slain, let them be slain. Those destined for the famine, to the famine. And those destined for the captivity, to the captivity.

I will hand them over to four kinds of disaster, says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to rip, the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

I will cause them to be scattered to all kingdoms of the earth, because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.

For who shall care about you, Jerusalem? Who shall cry for you or go out of their way to ask how you are doing?

You dropped Me," says the Lord, "you take one step forward and two step backward! I will work against you and destroy you. I am weary of relenting!

I will sift them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land. I will deprive them of children. I will destroy My people, since they were unrepentant of their sins.

Widows will increase before Me more than the sand of the seas. I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, a destroyer at midday. I will suddenly bring down on her sorrow and terrors.

She who has borne seven sons suffers. She has lost heart. Her sun has gone down while it was yet day. She has been ashamed and humiliated. And the rest of them I'll hand over to their enemies' sword." says the Lord.

Jeremiah said, "Misery is mine, mom, that you borne me as a man of strife and of contention for the entire earth! I have not lent with interest, nor have I borrowed from others, yet every one curses me!

The Lord said, "Truly I will set you free for good purposes. Truly I will cause the enemy to implore you in the time of evil and trouble.

Can anyone break the iron from the north or even the bronze?

Your wealth and treasures I will hand over freely to the destroyer, because of all your sins, even within all your borders.

I will make you to travel with your enemies into a land unknown to you, because I'm hot in My anger, which shall burn upon you.

All knowing Lord, remember me, and take notice of me. Take vengeance on my persecutors. Because of your longsuffering, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

Your words were discovered and I gobbled them up. And Your word became to me the joy and rejoicing of my spirit, for I am called by Your name --- dear Lord God of Hosts.

I did not sit with the gathering of mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your guidance, for You filled me with resentment.

Why is my pain never ending and my wound incurable -- refusing to be healed? Shall You be altogether to me as a deceptive stream and as waters that dry up?

The Lord reassuringly said, " If you turn around, then I will bring you back, and you shall stand before Me; and if you remove the precious from what's worthless, you will be My spokesman. Let them come to you, but do not go to them.

I will make you to this people as a fortified bronze wall; and they shall fight against you, but they shall not harm you; for I am with you to save and deliver you," says the Lord.

I will deliver you from the ability of the wicked, and redeem you from the ability of the violent.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Jehovah saith unto me: Though Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My soul is not toward this people, Send from before My face, and they go out.

2 And it hath come to pass, when they say to thee, Whither do we go out? that thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah: Those who [are] for death -- to death, And those who are for the sword, to the sword, And those who are for famine, to famine, And those who are for captivity, to captivity.

3 And I have appointed over them four kinds, an affirmation of Jehovah, The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, And the fowl of the heavens, And the beast of the earth, to consume and to devour.

4 And I have given them for a trembling To all kingdoms of the earth, Because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, For that which he did in Jerusalem.

5 For who hath pity on thee, O Jerusalem? And who doth bemoan for thee? And who turneth aside to ask of thy welfare?

6 Thou -- thou hast left Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Backward thou goest, And I stretch out My hand against thee, And I destroy thee, I have been weary of repenting,

7 And I scatter them with a fan, in the gates the land, I bereaved, I have destroyed My people, From their ways they turned not back.

8 Its widows have been more to Me than the sand of the seas, I brought in to them -- against the mother -- A young man -- a spoiler -- at noon. I caused to fall upon her suddenly, wrath and trouble.

9 Languished hath the bearer of seven, She hath breathed out her spirit, Gone in hath her sun while yet day, It hath been ashamed and confounded, And their residue to the sword I give up before their enemies, An affirmation of Jehovah.

10 Wo to me, my mother, For thou hast borne me a man of strife, And a man of contention to all the land, I have not lent on usury, Nor have they lent on usury to me -- All of them are reviling me.

11 Jehovah said, Did I not direct thee for good? Did not I intercede for thee in a time of evil, And in a time of adversity, with the enemy?

12 Doth one break iron -- northern iron, and brass?

13 Thy strength and thy treasures For a prey I do give -- not for price, Even for all thy sins, and in all thy borders.

14 And I have caused thine enemies To pass over into the land -- Thou hast not known, For a fire hath been kindled in Mine anger, Against you it doth burn.

15 Thou, Thou hast known, O Jehovah, Remember me, and inspect me, And take vengeance for me of my pursuers, In Thy long-suffering take me not away, Know -- I have borne for Thee reproach.

16 Thy words have been found, and I eat them, And Thy word is to me for a joy, And for the rejoicing of my heart, For Thy name is called on me, O Jehovah, God of Hosts.

17 I have not sat in an assembly of deriders, Nor do I exult, because of thy hand, -- Alone I have sat, For [with] indignation Thou hast filled me.

18 Why hath my pain been perpetual? And my wound incurable? It hath refused to be healed, Thou art surely to me as a failing stream, Waters not stedfast.

19 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: If thou turnest back, then I bring thee back, Before Me thou dost stand, And if thou bringest out the precious from the vile, As My mouth thou art! They -- they turn back unto thee, And thou dost not turn back unto them.

20 And I have made thee to this people For a wall -- brazen -- fenced, And they have fought against thee, And they do not prevail against thee, For with thee [am] I to save thee, And to deliver thee -- an affirmation of Jehovah,

21 And I have delivered thee from the hand of evil doers, And I have ransomed thee From the hand of the terrible!

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 16:1-21

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

Don't take a wife, or have children here.

The Lord said regarding the sons and daughters who are born here, and their mothers who bore them, and their fathers who fathered them in this land:

They will die of plagues. They will not be cried over or buried. But they will be as poop upon the face of the ground. And they will die by the sword and by famine. And their carcasses will be food for the fowl of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.

So says the Lord: Do not enter a house in despair, or go to lament or bemoan them; for I have removed My peace from this nation, including loving kindness and mercy.

Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried; neither will men cry, cut themselves, nor shave their hair for the dead.

Neither will men care for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. They will not even drink for their father or for their mother's passing.

Also you shall not go into the house of myrth, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

For thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: I will cause to end, during your lifetime, the voice of laughter and gladness, the voice of the bride and groom.

And when you say all this, and they say to you, “Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our sin? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?”

then you shall say to them: Because your fathers have dumped Me, says the Lord, and have pursued other gods and served and worshipped them, but have dumped Me and ignored My law.

And you have done even worse than your fathers, for here you are, each doing whatever you desire so that no one listens to Me.

So, I will toss you from this land into a land that you never heard of, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night because I will not favor you.

Therefore, absolutely the days will come, says the Lord, that it will no longer be said, “As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of Egypt,” but, “As the Lord lives, who brought out the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the nations wherever He had driven them.” And I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their ancestors.

Now, I will send for many fishermen to fish for them; and following I will send for many hunters to hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks.

For I observe all their ways; they are ever in front of Me, nor is their iniquity hidden from Me.

First I will doubly reward their iniquity and their sin, because they've ruined My land; they have filled My inheritance with the bodies of their detestable and abominable things.

Dear Lord, my strength and castle, and my refuge in the day of trouble, the nations will come to You from around the world, and will say, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and worthless stuff.

Shall a man design unreal gods for himself?

“Therefore, surely I will this time cause them to realize, My hand and My might and that My name is the Lord.”

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

2 Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.

3 For thus said Jehovah, Of the sons and of the daughters who are born in this place, And of their mothers -- those bearing them, And of their fathers -- those begetting them in this land:

4 Of painful deaths they die, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are, And by sword and by famine are consumed, And their carcase hath been for food To the fowl of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.

5 For thus said Jehovah: Do not enter the house of a mourning-feast, Nor go to lament nor bemoan for them, For I have removed My peace from this people, An affirmation of Jehovah, The kindness and the mercies.

6 And died have great and small in this land, They are not buried, and none lament for them, Nor doth any cut himself, nor become bald for them.

7 Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.

8 A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,

9 For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am causing to cease from this place, Before your eyes, and in your days, The voice of joy, and the voice of rejoicing, The voice of bridegroom and voice of bride.

10 And it hath come to pass when thou declarest to this people all these words, and they have said unto thee, `For what hath Jehovah spoken against us all this great evil? yea, what [is] our iniquity, and what our sin, that we have sinned against Jehovah our God?'

11 Then thou hast said unto them: Because that your fathers have forsaken Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, And go after other gods, and serve them, And they bow themselves to them, And Me have forsaken, and My law not kept,

12 Ye also have done evil above your fathers, And lo, ye are walking each after the stubbornness of his evil heart, So as not to hearken unto Me.

13 And I have cast you from off this land, On to a land that ye have not known, Ye and your fathers, And ye have served there other gods by day and by night, Where I do not give to you grace.

14 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more: `Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'

15 But, `Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of the north, And out of all the lands whither He drove them,' And I have brought them back to their land, That I gave to their fathers.

16 Lo, I am sending for many fishers, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they have fished them, And after this I send for many hunters, And they have hunted them from off every mountain, And from off every hill, and from holes of the rocks.

17 For Mine eyes [are] upon all their ways, They have not been hidden from My face, Nor hath their iniquity been concealed from before Mine eyes.

18 And I have recompensed a first -- A second time -- their iniquity and their sin, Because of their polluting My land, With the carcase of their detestable things, Yea, their abominable things have filled Mine inheritance.

19 O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

20 Doth man make for himself gods, And they -- no gods?

21 Therefore, lo, I am causing them to know at this time, I cause them to know My hand and My might, And they have known that My name [is] Jehovah!

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 17:1-27

The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen having a diamond point. It is engraved on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of their altars.

The same as they remember their children, so they remember their altars, and their groves by the green trees on the high hills.

Dearest mountain in the field, I will hand over your wealth and all your treasures to the destroyer, and your high places for the sin throughout your boundaries.

You, yourself, will lose your heritage which I gave you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land unknown to you for you have made me angry forever.

Thus says the Lord:

Cursed is the man who trusts in man and imagines mortality as his strength, and whose heart departs from the Lord.

For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not notice when good happens, but will inhabit the parched places of the wilderness like a uninhabited salt flat.

Blessed is the man who trusts the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river --- not fearful when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green, and it shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is more deceitful than anything and desperately wicked; who can figure it out?

I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to reward every man according to his ways, and for the results of his deeds.

As the partridge sits on eggs which it has not laid, so is he who gets riches, but not honestly. This will forsake him in midlife, and finally he will be a fool.

A glorious high throne from everlasting is the place of our sanctuary.

Dear Lord, the Hope of Israel, all who forsake You will be ashamed. “Those who leave Me upon the earth will be recorded, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.”

Heal me, Dear Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.

See how they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now!”

As for me, I have not run away from shepherding under You, nor have I desired all this judgment. You Yourself know that which came from my mouth was in Your presence.

Do not terrify me. You are my hope in the day of disaster.

Let those who persecute me be humiliated, but let me not be humiliated. Let them be shocked, but not me. Bring upon them judgment, and destroy them twice over.

The Lord said to me, "Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.

Say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

The Lord says, Observe for yourselves, and do not transport on the Sabbath day nor bring anything through the gates of Jerusalem.

You shall not transport from your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.

But they did not obey or listen, but became obstinate, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

It shall come to pass, if you diligently listen to Me, says the Lord, to not transport through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but sanctify the Sabbath day doing no work on it,

then there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and officials sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their officials, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited to the end of the age.

They will come from the cities of Judah and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise to the temple of the Lord.

But if you will not listen to Me to honor the Sabbath day and not transport, to even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will start a fire at the gates and it will consume the palaces of Jerusalem and it will not be quenched.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, With the point of a diamond, Graven on the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars,

2 As their sons remember their altars and their shrines, By the green tree, by the high hills.

3 O My mountain in the field -- thy strength, All thy treasures -- for a prey I give, Thy high places for sin in all thy borders.

4 And thou hast let go -- even through thyself, Of thine inheritance that I gave to thee, And I have caused thee to serve thine enemies, In a land that thou hast not known, For a fire ye have kindled in Mine anger, Unto the age it doth burn.

5 Thus said Jehovah: Cursed [is] the man who doth trust in man, And hath made flesh his arm, And from Jehovah whose heart turneth.

6 And he hath been as a naked thing in a desert, And doth not see when good cometh, And hath inhabited parched places in a wilderness, A salt land, and not inhabited.

7 Blessed [is] the man who trusteth in Jehovah, And whose confidence hath been Jehovah.

8 And hath been as a tree planted by waters, And by a rivulet he sendeth forth his roots, And he doth not see when heat cometh, And his leaf hath been green, And in a year of dearth he is not sorrowful, Nor doth he cease from making fruit.

9 Crooked [is] the heart above all things, And it [is] incurable -- who doth know it?

10 I Jehovah do search the heart, try the reins, Even to give to each according to his way, According to the fruit of his doings.

11 A partridge hatching, and not bringing forth, [Is] one making wealth, and not by right, In the midst of his days he doth forsake it, And in his latter end -- he is a fool.

12 A throne of honour on high from the beginning, The place of our sanctuary,

13 The hope of Israel [is] Jehovah, All forsaking Thee are ashamed, And `My apostates' in the earth are written, For they have forsaken Jehovah, A fountain of living waters.

14 Heal me, O Jehovah, and I am healed, Save me, and I am saved, for my praise [art] Thou.

15 Lo, they are saying unto me: `Where [is] the word of Jehovah? pray, let it come.'

16 And I hastened not from feeding after Thee, And the desperate day I have not desired, Thou -- Thou hast known, The produce of my lips, before Thy face it hath been,

17 Be not Thou to me for a terror, My hope [art] Thou in a day of evil.

18 Let my pursuers be ashamed, and let not me be ashamed -- me! Let them be affrighted, and let not me be affrighted -- me! Bring in on them a day of evil, And a second time [with] destruction destroy them.

19 Thus said Jehovah unto me: `Go, and thou hast stood in the gate of the sons of the people, by which kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all gates of Jerusalem,

20 and thou hast said unto them: Hear a word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem, who are coming in by these gates,

21 Thus said Jehovah, Take ye heed to yourselves, And ye bear not a burden on the day of rest, Nor have ye brought [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem.

22 Nor do ye take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, Yea, any work ye do not do, And ye have sanctified the day of rest, As I have commanded your fathers.

23 And they have not hearkened nor inclined their ear, And they stiffen their neck not to hear, And not to receive instruction.

24 And it hath been, if ye certainly hearken unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, So as not to bring in a burden By the gates of this city on the day of rest, And to sanctify the day of rest, So as not to do in it any work --

25 Then entered by the gates of this city have kings and princes, Sitting on the throne of David, Riding in a chariot, and on horses, They, and their princes, the man of Judah, And inhabitants of Jerusalem, And this city hath remained to the age.

26 And they have come in from cities of Judah, And from suburbs of Jerusalem, And from the land of Benjamin, And from the low country, And from the hill-country, and from the south, Bringing in burnt-offering, and sacrifice, And present, and frankincense, And bringing praise [to] the house of Jehovah.

27 And if ye do not hearken unto me to sanctify the day of rest, And so as not to bear a burden, And to come in at the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest, Then I have kindled a fire in its gates, And it hath consumed the high places of Jerusalem, And it is not quenched!'

[_consiglieri]

The Bible is too long.

[_Gunnar]

183 pages of this tedium, so far, and we're not even through the Old Testament yet!

[_LittleNipper]

The Bible is too long.

Well, the Book of Mormon will not be included.

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 18:1-23

The Word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord said,

“Get up and head to the potter’s house, and there I will enable you to hear My words.”

So Jeremiah headed to the potter’s house, and there the potter was creating something on the wheel.

Yet the pot he created of clay was ruined at the hand of the potter; so he shaped it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to shape it.

Then the word of the Lord came upon Jeremiah, saying:

"Dear house of Israel, can I not do accordingly as this potter did with clay?" said the Lord. "As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, Dear house of Israel.

At one moment I may speak concerning a nation and a kingdom to pluck up, and to demolish, and to destroy it.

If that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will withhold the disaster that I thought to do to it.

Or at another moment I may speak concerning a nation and a kingdom to build and nurture it.

If it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will withhold the good with which I stated that I would bless it.

Now speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: Now says the Lord, "Look, I am shaping disaster and devising a plan against you. Repent now, everyone from his evil way, and shape up and be good."

But they say, “There is no hope! We will go along as we wish and will do according to the stubbornness of our evil hearts.”

Therefore thus says the Lord:

Ask right now the nations, who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.

Shall a man leave the snow of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Shall the cold flowing water that comes from another place be rejected?

Because My people have rejected Me. They have burned incense to worthless gods, and stumbled in their ways from ancient directions, to walk cow paths, not on a highway,

to make their land inhospitable, with much disgust ---- everyone who passes by shall be shocked and wag their heads.

I will scatter them before the enemy as with an east wind; I will turn my back on them in the day of their calamity.

They then remarked, “Come and let's devise plans to harm Jeremiah. For the law will not be forgotten by the priest, nor guidance from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let speak against him, and let us not listen of his words.”

Listen to me, Dear Lord, and hear those who deal with me.

Shall evil be repaid with good? For they have constructed a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood in front of You to speak on their behalf, and to direct Your anger from them.

Therefore, hand over their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the sword; and let their wives be mourn for their children and become widows and let their men be killed; let their young men be slain in battle.

Let a gasp be heard from their houses, when You bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they dug a pit to capture me and hidden traps for my feet.

Yet, Lord, You know all their conniving against me to kill me. Do not forgive their sin or blot out their sin from Your observation. Instead let them be overthrown in front of you. Deal with them when you get angry.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

2 Rise, and thou hast gone down [to] the potter's house, and there I cause thee to hear My words;

3 and I go down [to] the potter's house, and lo, he is doing a work on the stones,

4 and marred is the vessel that he is making, as clay in the hand of the potter, and he hath turned and he maketh it another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make.

5 And there is a word of Jehovah to me, saying:

6 As this potter am I not able to do to you? O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah. Lo, as clay in the hand of the potter, So [are] ye in My hand, O house of Israel.

7 The moment I speak concerning a nation, And concerning a kingdom, To pluck up and to break down, and to destroy,

8 And that nation hath turned from its evil, Because I have spoken against it, Then I have repented of the evil that I thought to do to it.

9 And the moment I speak concerning a nation, And concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant,

10 And it hath done the evil thing in Mine eyes, So as not to hearken to My voice, Then I have repented of the good That I have spoken of doing to it.

11 And now, speak, I pray thee, unto men of Judah, And against inhabitants of Jerusalem, Saying: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am framing against you evil, And devising against you a device, Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way And amen your ways and your doings.

12 And they have said, It is incurable, For after our own devices we do go, And each the stubbornness of his evil heart we do.

13 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ask, I pray you, among the nations, Who hath heard like these? A very horrible thing hath the virgin of Israel done.

14 Doth snow of Lebanon Cease from the rock of the field? Failed are the cold strange waters that flow?

15 But My people have forgotten Me, to a vain thing they make perfume, And they cause them to stumble in their ways -- paths of old, To walk in paths -- a way not raised up,

16 To make their land become a desolation, A hissing age-during, Every passer by it is astonished, And bemoaneth with his head.

17 As an east wind I scatter them before an enemy, The neck, and not the face, I shew them, In the day of their calamity.'

18 And they say, Come, And we devise against Jeremiah devices, For law doth not perish from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet, Come, and we smite him with the tongue, And we do not attend to any of his words.

19 Give attention, O Jehovah, unto me, And hearken to the voice of those contending with me.

20 Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from them.

21 Therefore, give up their sons to famine, And cause them to run on the sides of the sword, And their wives are bereaved and widows, And their men are slain by death, Their young men smitten by sword in battle,

22 A cry is heard from their houses, For Thou bringest against them suddenly a troop, For they dug a pit to capture me, And snares they have hidden for my feet.

23 And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me [is] for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 19:1-15

The Lord said:

"Jeremiah, go and purchase a clay jar. Take along some of the city officials and leading priests

And go to Hinnom Valley, just outside Potsherd Gate. Tell the people that I have said:

I am the Lord God of Israel, and you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem better listen. I am going to bring so much trouble on this valley that everyone who hears about it will be shocked.

The people of Judah stopped worshiping Me and made this valley into a place of worship for Baal and other gods that have never helped them, their ancestors or their kings. And they have committed murder here, burning their young, innocent children as sacrifices to Baal. I have never even suggested that you to do that.

So watch out! Someday this place will no longer be called Topheth or Hinnom Valley. It will be called Slaughter Valley!

You people of Judah and Jerusalem may have big plans, but in this valley I’ll destroy those plans. I’ll let your enemies kill you, and I’ll tell the birds and wild animals to eat your carrion.

I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of trash, and every passerby will be shocked and horrified and will make insults.

And while your enemies are trying to break through your city walls to kill you, the food supply will run out. You will become so hungry that you will eat the flesh of your friends and even of your own children.

Jeremiah, as soon as you have said this, smash the pot with the people watching.

Then tell them that I have also said: I am the Almighty Lord, and I warn you that I will shatter Judah and Jerusalem just like this jar that is broken to smitherines. You will bury your dead here in Topheth, but so many of you will die that there won’t be places enough.

I will make Jerusalem as unclean as Topheth, by filling the city with your dead bodies. I will do this because you and your kings have gone up to the roofs of your houses and burned incense to the stars in the sky, as though they were gods. And you have given sacrifices of wine to foreign gods.

I went to Topheth, where I told the people what the Lord had said. Then I went to the temple courtyard and shouted to the people,

“Listen, everyone! Some time ago, the Lord God of Israel, warned you that he would bring disaster on Jerusalem and all nearby villages. But you were stubborn and refused to listen. Now the Lord is bringing the disaster he promised.”


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Thus said Jehovah, `Go, and thou hast got a potter's earthen vessel, and of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests,

2 and thou hast gone forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, that [is] at the opening of the gate of the pottery, and hast proclaimed there the words that I speak unto thee,

3 and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: `Lo, I am bringing in evil on this place, at which the ears of every one who is hearing it do tingle,

4 because that they have forsaken Me, and make known this place, and make perfume in it to other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers, and the kings of Judah, and they have filled this place [with] innocent blood,

5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire, burnt-offerings to Baal, that I commanded not, nor spake of, nor did it come up on My heart.

6 `Therefore, lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and this place is not called any more, Tophet, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but, Valley of slaughter.

7 And I have made void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and have caused them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those seeking their life, and I have given their carcase for food to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth,

8 and I have made this city for a desolation, and for a hissing, every passer by it is astonished, and doth hiss for all its plagues.

9 And I have caused them to eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters, and each the flesh of his friend they do eat, in the siege and in the straitness with which straiten them do their enemies, and those seeking their life.

10 `And thou hast broken the bottle before the eyes of the men who are going with thee,

11 and hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Thus do I break this people and this city, as one breaketh the potter's vessel, that is not able to be repaired again, and in Tophet they bury -- without place to bury;

12 so I do to this place -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and to its inhabitants, so as to make this city as Tophet;

13 and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, have been -- as the place of Tophet -- defiled, even all the houses on whose roofs they have made perfume to all the host of the heavens, so as to pour out oblations to other gods.'

14 And Jeremiah cometh in from Tophet, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy, and he standeth in the court of the house of Jehovah, and he saith unto all the people:

15 `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in unto this city, and on all its cities, all the evil that I have spoken against it, for they have hardened their neck -- not to hear My words!'

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 20:1-18

Now Immer's son Pashhur, the priest in charge of the Temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah speak.

He arrested Jeremiah, hit him and put Jeremiah in the stocks at Benjamin Gate near the Temple.

Jeremiah was left there all night. The next day when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. He says from now on to call you ‘Living in Terror.’

For the Lord will send terror on you and all your friends, and you will witness them die by the swords of their enemies. I will hand over Judah to the king of Babylon, says the Lord, and he shall take away these people as slaves for Babylon and kill them.

And I will let your enemies loot Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of that city, with the precious jewels, gold, and silver of your kings, shall be removed to Babylon.

And as for, Pashhur, and all his family and household, they shall become slaves in Babylon and die there and those to whom he lied when he prophesied that everything would be just fine.”

Jeremiah says, "Dear Lord, you deceived me when you promised me your help. I have to give them your messages because you are all powerful, but now I am the laughingstock of the city, mocked by everyone.

You have never once let me speak a word of kindness to them; always it is disaster and horror and destruction. No wonder they scoff and mock and make my name a household joke.

And I can’t stop! For if I say I’ll never mention the Lord—never speak in His name—then His word in my heart is like fire that burns in my bones, and I can’t refrain any longer.

Yet on all around I hear their whispered threats and am afraid. “We will report,” they say. Even those who were my friends are spying, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will take revenge on him.”

But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before Him, the Mighty, Terrible One, they shall stumble. They cannot defeat me; they shall be shamed and thoroughly humiliated, and they shall carry a stigma upon them forever.

Dear Lord Almighty, who knows those who are righteous and examines the deepest thoughts of hearts and minds, let me see your vengeance on them. I have committed my cause to you.

Therefore, I will sing out in thanks to the Lord! Praise him! For he has delivered me, poor and needy, from my oppressors.

Yet, cursed be the day that I was born!

Cursed be the man who brought my father the news that a son was born.

Let that messenger be destroyed like the cities of old which God overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle cries.

Because he did not kill me at my birth! I wish I died inside my mother’s womb, that it had been my tomb!

Why was I born? For my life has been noting but trouble, sorrow and shame."


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Pashhur son of Immer the priest -- who also [is] overseer, leader in the house of Jehovah -- heareth Jeremiah prophesying these things,

2 and Pashhur smiteth Jeremiah the prophet, and putteth him unto the stocks, that [are] by the high gate of Benjamin, that [is] by the house of Jehovah.

3 and it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Pashhur bringeth out Jeremiah from the stocks, and Jeremiah saith unto him, `Not Pashhur hath Jehovah called thy name, but -- Magor-Missabib.

4 For thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am making thee for a fear to thyself, And to all loving thee, And they have fallen by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes are beholding, And all Judah I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, And he hath removed them to Babylon, And he hath smitten them with the sword.

5 And I have given all the strength of this city, And all its labour, and all its precious things, Yea, all the treasures of the kings of Judah I do give into the hand of their enemies, And they have spoiled them, and taken them, And have brought them into Babylon.

6 And thou, Pashhur, and all dwelling in thy house, Do go into captivity. and Babylon thou dost enter, And there thou diest, and there thou art buried, Thou and all loving thee, To whom thou hast prophesied falsely.'

7 Thou hast persuaded me, O Jehovah, and I am persuaded; Thou hast hardened me, and dost prevail, I have been for a laughter all the day, Every one is mocking at me,

8 Because from the time I speak I cry out, `Violence and destruction,' I cry, For the word of Jehovah hath been to me For reproach and for derision all the day.

9 And I said, `I do not mention Him, Nor do I speak any more in His name,' And it hath been in my heart As a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I have been weary of containing, And I am not able.

10 For I have heard the evil report of many, Fear [is] round about: `Declare, and we declare it,' All mine allies are watching [for] my halting, `Perhaps he is enticed, and we prevail over him, And we take our vengeance out of him.'

11 And Jehovah [is] with me, as a terrible mighty one, Therefore my persecutors stumble and prevail not, They have been exceedingly ashamed, For they have not acted wisely, Confusion age-during is not forgotten.

12 And, O Jehovah of Hosts, trier of the righteous, Beholder of reins and heart, I do see Thy vengeance out of them, For unto Thee I have revealed my cause.

13 Sing ye to Jehovah, praise Jehovah, For He hath delivered the soul of the needy From the hand of evil doers.

14 Cursed [is] the day in which I was born, The day that my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed!

15 Cursed [is] the man who bore tidings [to] my father, saying, `Born to thee hath been a child -- a male,' Making him very glad!

16 Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of noon.

17 Because he hath not put me to death from the womb, And my mother is to me -- my grave, And her womb a pregnancy age-during.

18 Why [is] this? from the womb I have come out, To see labour and sorrow, Yea, consumed in shame are my days!

[_Maksutov]

https://irrco.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/ ... e-special/

Is the Bible special?

I love the Bible, particularly the New Testament. I love it in the way I love my slide-rule: I’ve had it for a long time; I enjoy playing with it; I enjoy knowing stuff about it; I like the connection it gives me to an earlier time; and I like the look of it on my shelf.

I don’t, however, think it is very useful. At least, for any particular problem I can imagine it solving, I can think of many other resources that would be better suited to the task. It is a beloved curiosity.

The Bible, I think, is a religious book of its time and context. Just a religious book of its time and context. It is no more special in its time and context than the Book of Mormon is in its, or the writings of Baha’u’llah, Gurdjieff, or LRH; the Bagavad Gita, the Analects or the Qur’an.

All of which may be deeply profound to some, but all of which would be utterly pointless reads to the average reader arriving at the text unprimed.

The point is, if you actually read the Bible without being primed to think it is holy, True (in some sense), important, or special, the text is simply not very impressive. It is tedious, tribal, occasionally uplifting, ludicrous, far fetched, even more tedious, and alienating.

It takes hard work, perhaps sustained by naïve enthusiasm, to get much out of the Bible. But the same is true of any work of literature, spiritual or fictional or both. If I went back 30 years now, to talk to my former self about what to spend my life studying, I’d be hard pressed to give good reasons to choose the Bible over Shakespeare, say, or Bach, or any other cultural artefact. At least those alternatives are easier to derive pleasure from, on a shallow level. I don’t regret the choice I made, I just don’t think I somehow picked perfectly.

Even most Christians barely, if ever, read it of their own volition. Unless guilted into a daily ‘quiet time’, or in the context of a church Bible study (and even then it is usually cut into tiny edifying pieces, provided with ample ‘correct answers’ for why they are to find it profound). Most Christians don’t read it because they don’t enjoy it or get much out of it.

Of course there might be a small proportion of exceptions. But if you’ve spent any time with Shakespeare scholars, or (especially perhaps) fans of Joyce, you’ll see the same passion for the subtleties, the same willingness to be moved by the deeper interpretations.

The average person would simply not make it through the Bible, and most of the few who did would be utterly baffled at what the fuss is about.

I think those people who claim the Bible is some ultimately wonderful book, chock full of important truth and unique in human history are either deluding themselves, or have never seriously read one of its competitors.

https://irrco.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/ ... e-special/