Coming Disaster and the Promise of a New Covenant

Chapter 16

1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.” 3For this is what the LORD says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and the mothers who bore them, and the fathers who fathered them in this land: 4“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.” 5Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion,” declares the LORD. 6“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them. 7No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother. 8You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink. 9For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom. 10When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11Then you are to answer them: ‘It is because your fathers have forsaken Me, declares the LORD, and followed other gods, and served and worshiped them. They abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction. 12And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me. 13So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ 14Yet behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’ 15Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their land that I gave to their forefathers. 16But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks. 17For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes. 18And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”

Chapter 17

5This is what the LORD says: 19This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; and stand at all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, all people of Judah and Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22You must not carry a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day, but you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers. 23Yet they would not listen or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and would not listen or receive My discipline. 24If, however, you listen carefully to Me, says the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and keep the Sabbath day holy, and do no work on it, 25then kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses with their officials, along with the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26And people will come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, and from the foothills, the hill country, and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in its gates to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’”

Chapter 18

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Go down at once to the potter’s house, and there I will give you My message.” 3So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel. 4But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. 8But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring. 9And if at another time I announce that I will build up and establish a nation or kingdom, 10and if it does evil in My sight and does not listen to My voice, then I will relent of the good I had intended for it. 11Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways, and correct your ways and deeds.’ 12But they will reply, ‘It is hopeless. We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” 13Therefore this is what the LORD says: 18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

Chapter 19

1This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests, 2and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you, 3saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring, 4because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind. 6So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 8I will make this city a desolation and an object of scorn. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds. 9I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’ 10Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, 11and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them. 12This is what I will do to this place and to its residents, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. 13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” 14Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and proclaimed to all the people, 15“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and on all the villages around it every disaster I have pronounced against them, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”

Chapter 20

1When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and the chief official in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. 3The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib. 4For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. And I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away to Babylon and put them to the sword. 5I will give away all the wealth of this city—all its products and valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah—to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. 6And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried—you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied these lies.’”

Chapter 21

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said, 2“Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.” 3But Jeremiah answered, “You are to tell Zedekiah that 4this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city. 5And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, with anger, fury, and great wrath. 6I will strike down the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a terrible plague.’ 7‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’ 8Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war. 10For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.’ 11Moreover, tell the house of the king of Judah to hear the word of the LORD. 12O house of David, this is what the LORD says:

Chapter 22

1This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, 2saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. 3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people. 5But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’” 6For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: 8And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ 9Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’” 11For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return, 12but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.” 18Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 24“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. 25In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans. 26I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die. 27You will never return to the land for which you long.” 30This is what the LORD says:

Chapter 23

1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. 2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD. 3Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. 7So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’ 8Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ Then they will dwell once more in their own land.” 9As for the prophets: 11declares the LORD. 12declares the LORD. 15Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: 16This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 23“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?” 24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. 25“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds? 27They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal. 28Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD. 29“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?” 30“Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.” 31“Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’” 32“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD. 33“Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’ 34As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God. 37Thus you are to say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 38But if you claim, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ and I specifically told you not to make this claim, 39therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”

Chapter 24

1After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. 2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3“Jeremiah,” the LORD asked, “what do you see?” “Figs!” I replied. “The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.” 4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart. 8But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt. 9I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them. 10And I will send against them sword and famine and plague, until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”

Chapter 25

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: 3“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear. 5The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’ 8Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation. 10Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 12But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’” 15This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me, 18to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people; 20all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; 26all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too. 27“Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’ 28If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! 29For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’ 30So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: 31declares the LORD. 32This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 33Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.

Historical Context

The passage was written by the prophet Jeremiah during the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, a period of significant turmoil for the kingdom of Judah. The region was under threat from the rising power of Babylon, and Jeremiah's ministry occurred during the reigns of several kings, including Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and others. His audience included both the leadership and ordinary people of Judah, whom he repeatedly warned about the consequences of their idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. These chapters capture a mix of prophecy, symbolic actions (such as the shattering of the clay jar), and messages of judgment against Judah and surrounding nations, particularly in the context of the looming Babylonian exile.

Theological Insight

These chapters emphasize God's sovereignty over nations and His holiness in upholding His covenant. God’s repeated warnings through Jeremiah reveal His justice, as well as His patience and desire for repentance. The image of the potter and clay (chapter 18) underscores God's authority to shape and reshape nations and individuals according to His purposes. Yet, alongside judgment, God promises restoration, pointing to His unwavering commitment to His people and His broader redemptive plan. The reference to a future gathering of the remnant (e.g., the good figs in chapter 24) highlights God's grace and the hope of eventual redemption, prefiguring the ultimate restoration through Christ.

Practical Application

This passage challenges us to examine our hearts for areas where we might be resisting God's call to obedience and repentance. Just as the people of Judah were called to turn from their 'stubbornness of heart' (Jeremiah 16:12), we are invited to reflect on whether we are following God's will or pursuing our own plans. The emphasis on keeping the Sabbath (chapter 17) reminds us of the need to honor God in all aspects of life, giving Him the space and priority He deserves. The imagery of the potter and clay inspires trust in God's hands to shape our lives for His good purposes, even when we face difficulties or correction.

What does the repeated imagery of judgment in these chapters (such as disease, exile, and destruction) reveal about God's holiness and justice in response to sin?

In Jeremiah 18:1–6, how does the metaphor of the potter and the clay capture the balance between God's sovereignty over nations and human responsibility to repent and obey?

In what ways might you be tempted to rely on your own plans or the desires of your heart rather than submitting to God's instructions, as seen in the warnings to Judah about their stubbornness?

How do the promises of restoration and redemption (e.g., Jeremiah 16:15, 23:3–4, and 24:5–7) encourage you to trust in God's faithfulness even in the midst of difficult or uncertain circumstances?

Lord, You are the potter, and we are the clay. Shape our hearts to turn from stubbornness, to seek Your mercy, and to trust in Your ways. Forgive us for following the idols of our time, and teach us to walk in obedience so we may reflect Your holiness. Your Word is like fire and a hammer—purify us and break down anything in us that stands against You. Draw us back to You with whole hearts, for we long to be Your people and live in Your renewal. Amen.

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