I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ¹  You endure through all generations. ² 

for it is better for him ¹  to say to you, “Come up here,” ²  than to put you lower ³  before a prince, whom your eyes have seen. ⁴ 

For this is what the sovereign master ¹  has told me: “Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees.

The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but then night. ¹  If you want to ask, ask; come back again.” ² 

In the past he said to them, ¹  “This is where security can be found. Provide security for the one who is exhausted! This is where rest can be found.” ²  But they refused to listen.

This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’ and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’ Bring my sons from distant lands, and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

This is what the Lord says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters,

they will say about me, “Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” ¹  All who are angry at him will cower before him. ² 

For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will not be redeemed for money.”

In a burst ¹  of anger I rejected you ²  momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,” says your protector, ³  the Lord.

I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. ¹  Complete prosperity ²  is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,” says the Lord, “and I will heal them.

“Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord. “Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?” asks your God. ¹ 

All this will happen because the Lord said, ¹  “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

The Lord said to the people of Judah, ¹  “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²  says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! ³ 

The Lord said to me, ¹  “Tell them, ‘The Lord says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? ² 

“I, the Lord, say: ¹  ‘This shows how ²  I will ruin the highly exalted position ³  in which Judah and Jerusalem ⁴  take pride.

The Lord told me, ¹  “Tell the king and the queen mother, ‘Surrender your thrones, ²  for your glorious crowns will be removed ³  from your heads. ⁴ 

The Lord told Jeremiah, ¹  “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. ²  Take with you ³  some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders ⁴  of the priests.

The Lord told me, ¹  “Go down ²  to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. ³