Episode 192: I'll cause them to eat the flesh of their family and friends

Jeremiah 19-23

19 ¹ God said to Jeremiah,

Get a potter's earthen jug, take the jug to the people, and say to them,

³ This is what God says:

I’ll bring so much evil on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will tingle.

⁷ I’ll cause Judah and Jerusalem to be killed by the sword. I'll feed their carcasses to the birds and the beasts.

⁸ I'll destroy the city with plagues. Everyone who passes by will hiss in astonishment.

⁹ I'll cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and daughters.

And everyone will eat the flesh of a friend.

¹⁰ Then break the jug while everyone is watching.

And say to them,

¹¹ This is what God says:

I'll break the people like a potter's jug.

Pashur arrests Jeremiah

20 ¹ Pashur was the chief officer at God's house. He heard about the prophecies of Jeremiah.

² He smote Jeremiah and put him in the stocks that were near God's house.

God changes Pashur's name to Magormissabib

³ The next day, when Pashur released him, Jeremiah said to him:

God says your name is no longer Pashur, but Magormissabib.

⁴ God also says that you'll become a terror to yourself and to you friends, who will all be killed by their enemies while you are watching. God will give Judah to the king of Babylon, who will kill them, and take the survivors to Babylon.

⁶ And you, your family, and your friends will be carried away to Babylon, where you will die.

Jeremiah curses the day he was born

⁷ Jeremiah said to God,

Oh God, you have deceived and overpowered me. Everyone is laughing at me.

¹⁴ I curse the day I was born.

¹⁵ I curse the man who told my father that I was born.

^16-17 Let him die a violent death, like those in Sodom and Gomorrah, because he didn't kill me in the womb.

¹⁸ I should have been aborted.

I myself will fight against you

21 ¹ King Zedekiah sent messengers to talk to Jeremiah. They said to him,

² Ask God to help us fight against Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

³ Jeremiah said to them,

⁴ Say this to Zedekiah: This is what God says:

I won't help you fight against them.

⁵ Instead, I'll fight against you with my strong arm, in my anger, fury, and great wrath.

⁶ I'll smite Jerusalem, both man and beast, with a great pestilence.

⁷ Then I'll deliver Zedekiah and Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And he'll smite them with the sword. He won't spare, pity, or have mercy on them.

⁹ Those who live in the city will die by the sword, famine, or pestilence. The survivors will be taken as slaves to Babylon.

¹⁰ Because I've decided to do evil to Jerusalem.

The king of Babylon will burn it with fire.

Do no violence to the stranger

22 ¹ God said to Jeremiah,

Go to the house of the king of Judah and say to him,

³ This is what God says,

Defend the helpless and oppressed, don't mistreat strangers, orphans, or widows, and don't kill innocent people.

^5-6 Or else, I swear by myself, your house will be destroyed, and your cities will be uninhabited.

⁸ Neighboring countries will pass by the city and say, "Why did God do this to this city?"

⁹ They'll answer them saying, "Because they worshiped other gods and served them."

The Lord our righteousness

23 ¹ God said,

⁵ Someday I'll raise from David a righteous branch, who will be a wise king.

⁶ In his days, Judah will be saved, Israel will live in safety, and he will be called "The Lord is our righteousness".

I am like a drunken man

⁹ My heart is broken because of the prophets. All my bones shake. I'm like a drunken man because of the words of his holiness.

¹⁰ The land is full of adulterers. The land mourns because of swearing.

I am against the prophets

¹¹ God said,

Prophets and priests are profane.

¹² So I'll bring evil on them.

¹⁴ The prophets lie and commit adultery.

They are like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹⁵ I'll make them eat wormwood and drink gall.

¹⁶ Don't listen to prophets. They are deluding you.

¹⁷ They keep saying, "Everything is going to be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen."

²⁵ They prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I have dreamed a dream."

³⁴ I’ll punish those prophets and their families.