“ Do not be like your people of long ago. The earlier prophets gave them my message. I said,‘ Stop doing what is evil. Turn away from your sinful practices.’ But they would not listen to me. They would not pay any attention,” announces the Lord.

不要效法你们列祖。从前的先知呼叫他们说：‘万军之耶和华如此说：你们要回头离开你们的恶道恶行。’他们却不听，也不顺从我。这是耶和华说的。

不要效法你们的祖先。从前的先知呼叫他们说：‘万军之耶和华如此说，当回转离开你们的恶道恶行。’他们却不听，也不顺从我。这是耶和华说的。

不要效法你们的祖先。从前的先知呼叫他们说：‘万军之耶和华如此说，当回转离开你们的恶道恶行。’他们却不听，也不顺从我。这是耶和华说的。

不要像你们的祖先一样。以前的先知曾呼唤他们要听从万军之耶和华的话，改邪归正，停止作恶，他们却置若罔闻，不予理会。这是耶和华说的。

不要效法你们的列祖那样，从前的先知呼唤他们：万军之耶和华这样说，你们要回转，离开你们的恶道和恶行。他们却不听从，也不理会我（这是耶和华的宣告）。

不要效法你們列祖。從前的先知呼叫他們說，萬軍之耶和華如此說：『你們要回頭離開你們的惡道惡行。』他們卻不聽，也不順從我。這是耶和華說的。

不要效法你們的祖先。從前的先知呼叫他們說：『萬軍之耶和華如此說，當回轉離開你們的惡道惡行。』他們卻不聽，也不順從我。這是耶和華說的。

不要效法你們的祖先。從前的先知呼叫他們說：『萬軍之耶和華如此說，當回轉離開你們的惡道惡行。』他們卻不聽，也不順從我。這是耶和華說的。

不要像你們的祖先一樣。以前的先知曾呼喚他們要聽從萬軍之耶和華的話，改邪歸正，停止作惡，他們卻置若罔聞，不予理會。這是耶和華說的。

不要效法你們的列祖那樣，從前的先知呼喚他們：萬軍之耶和華這樣說，你們要回轉，離開你們的惡道和惡行。他們卻不聽從，也不理會我（這是耶和華的宣告）。

不要像你們列祖；從前的神言人呼叫他們說：「萬軍之永恆主這麼說：你們要回轉離開你們的壞行徑、壞作為」。他們卻不聽，不側耳聽我：永恆主發神諭說。

耶和華宣告：『你們不要像你們的祖先！先前的眾先知呼喚他們，說：「萬軍之耶和華如此說：現在你們要回轉離開自己邪惡的道路和邪惡的行為！」他們卻不聽從，也不留心聽我的話。

毋效爾列祖、古先知呼之曰、萬軍之耶和華云、轉離爾之惡途惡行、惟彼不聽、不從我言、耶和華言之矣、

爾勿效祖所為、古先知告之曰、萬有之主耶和華云、棄惡勿作、彼不聽從、

主曰、毋效爾之列祖、昔日之眾先知曾告之曰、萬有之主如是云、爾當悔改、勿行惡道、勿作惡事、勿行惡道勿作惡事或作離爾惡道惡行彼不聽、不順我、此乃主所言、

Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says:‘ Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.

Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out,‘ Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.

Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them,‘ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’

Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me— this is the LORD’s declaration.

“ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying,‘ This is what the Lord of armies says:“ Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord.

“ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying,‘ Thus says the Lord of hosts:“ Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith Jehovah.

Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to Me”— this is the Lord’s declaration.

Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and[ from] your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

“ Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying,‘ The LORD who rules over all says,“ Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the LORD.

Don’t you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Yahweh of Armies says,‘ Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;’ but they didn’t hear, nor listen to me, says Yahweh.

They would not be like their people who lived long ago. Those people were stubborn. They refused to obey God. They turned away from him. Their spirits were not faithful to him.

We have sinned, just as our people of long ago did. We too have done what is evil and wrong.When our people were in Egypt, they forgot about the Lord’ s miracles. They didn’t remember his many kind acts. At the Red Sea they refused to obey him.

Tell them,‘ When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy. But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy. And that is just as sure as I am alive,’ announces the Lord and King.‘ So turn away from your sins! Change your evil ways! Why should you die, people of Israel?’

Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said,‘ Each of you must turn from your evil ways. You must change the way you act. Do not worship other gods. Do not serve them. Then you will live in the land. I gave it to you and your people of long ago.’ But you have not paid any attention. You have not listened to me.

So wash and make yourselves clean. Get your evil actions out of my sight! Stop doing what is wrong!Learn to do what is right! Treat people fairly. Help those who are treated badly. Stand up in court for children whose fathers have died. And do the same thing for widows.“ Come. Let us settle this matter,” says the Lord.“ Even though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snow. Even though they are deep red, they will be white like wool.But you have to be willing to change and obey me. If you are, you will eat the good things that grow on the land.

The Lord said to me,“ Here is what I want you to announce in the towns of Judah. Say it also in the streets of Jerusalem. Tell the people,‘ Listen to the terms of my covenant. Obey them.Long ago I brought your people up from Egypt. From that time until today, I warned them again and again. I said,“ Obey me.”But they did not listen. They did not pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. So I brought down on them all the curses of the covenant. I commanded them to obey it. But they refused.’ ”

And now he says to us,“ Return to me. Then I will return to you,” announces the Lord.

The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived.But God’s people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord’ s great anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them.

Jehudi read three or four sections from the scroll. Then the king cut them off with a secretary’s knife. He threw them into the fire pot. He did that until the entire scroll was burned up in the fire.The king and some of his attendants heard all these words. But they weren’t afraid. They didn’t tear their clothes.

You were set free from an empty way of life. This way of life was handed down to you by your own people of long ago. You know that you were not bought with things that can pass away, like silver or gold.

“ So I will judge you Israelites. I will judge each of you in keeping with what you have done,” announces the Lord and King.“ Turn away from your sins! Turn away from all the evil things you have done. Then sin will not bring you down.Get rid of all the evil things you have done. Let me give you a new heart and a new spirit. Then you will be faithful to me. Why should you die, people of Israel?When anyone dies, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King.“ So turn away from your sins. Then you will live!

That’s because these people of Judah refuse to obey me. They are children who tell lies. They will not listen to what I want to teach them.They say to the seers,‘ Don’t see any more visions!’ They say to the prophets,‘ Don’t give us any more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things. Prophesy things we want to hear even if they aren’t true.Get out of our way! Get off our path! Keep the Holy One of Israel away from us!’ ”

Give glory to the Lord your God. Honor him before he sends darkness to cover the land. Do this before you trip and fall on the darkened hills. You hope that light will come. But he will turn it into thick darkness. He will change it to deep shadows.If you don’t listen, I will weep in secret. Because you are so proud, I will weep bitterly. Tears will flow from my eyes. The Lord’ s flock will be taken away as prisoners.Speak to the king and his mother. Tell them,“ Come down from your thrones. Your glorious crowns are about to fall from your heads.”

“ In the same way, I will destroy Judah’s pride. And I will destroy the great pride of Jerusalem.These people are evil. They refuse to listen to what I say. They do what their stubborn hearts want them to do. They chase after other gods. They serve them and worship them. So they will be like this belt. They will be completely useless.

Israel, return to the Lord your God. Your sins have destroyed you!

The Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets also forced us to leave. They do not please God. They are enemies of everyone.They try to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles. These Jews don’t want the Gentiles to be saved. In this way, these Jews always increase their sins to the limit. God’s anger has come on them at last.

First I preached to people in Damascus. Then I preached in Jerusalem and in all Judea. And then I preached to the Gentiles. I told them to turn away from their sins to God. The way they live must show that they have turned away from their sins.

So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new.

The Lord said to me,“ Go. Stand at the city gate called the Gate of the People. That is where the kings of Judah go in and out. Then stand at all the other gates of Jerusalem.Say,‘ Listen to the Lord’ s message, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. You always come through these gates.The Lord says,“ Make sure you do not carry a load on the Sabbath day. Do not bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.Do not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Do not do any work on that day. Instead, keep the Sabbath day holy. Do as I commanded your people of long ago.But they did not listen. They did not pay any attention to me. They were stubborn. They would not listen or pay attention when I corrected them.

Our people weren’t faithful. They did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God. They deserted him. They turned their faces away from the place where he lives. They turned their backs on him.They also shut the doors of the temple porch. They put the lamps out. They didn’t burn incense at the temple. They didn’t sacrifice burnt offerings there to the God of Israel.So the Lord has become angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them look so bad that everyone is shocked when they see them. They laugh at them. You can see it with your own eyes.That’s why our fathers have been killed by swords. That’s why our sons and daughters and wives have become prisoners.So I’m planning to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. Then he’ll stop being angry with us.

Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins.Don’t think you can say to yourselves,‘ Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones.The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.

The Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him. The prophets told the people what they were doing wrong. But the people wouldn’t listen.Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the priest. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah stood in front of the people. He told them,“ God says,‘ Why do you refuse to obey my commands? You will not have success. You have deserted me. So I have deserted you.’ ”But the people made evil plans against Zechariah. The king ordered them to kill Zechariah by throwing stones at him. They did it in the courtyard of the Lord’ s temple.King Joash didn’t remember how kind Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had been to him. So he killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying he said,“ May the Lord see this. May he hold you responsible.”

“ So speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Tell them,‘ The Lord says,“ Look! I am making plans against you. I am going to bring trouble on you. So each one of you must turn from your evil ways. Change the way you live and act.” ’

“ But they didn’t obey you. Instead, they turned against you. They turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets. The prophets had warned them to return to you. But they did very evil things that dishonored you.

Don’t be like your parents and the rest of your people. They weren’t faithful to the Lord, the God of their people. That’s why he punished them. He made them look so bad that everyone was shocked when they saw them. You can see it for yourselves.

People of Israel, return to the Lord. He’s the God you have so strongly opposed.

Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them,“‘ Israel, you have not been faithful,’ announces the Lord.‘ Return to me. Then I will do good things for you again. That’s because I am faithful,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will not be angry with you forever.

I want you to treat others fairly. So let fair treatment roll on just as a river does! Always do what is right. Let right living flow along like a stream that never runs dry!

“ For 23 years the Lord’ s messages have been coming to me. They began to come in the 13th year that Josiah was king of Judah. He was the son of Amon. The Lord’ s messages still come to me today. I’ve spoken to you people again and again. But you haven’t listened to me.“ The Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you. They’ve come to you again and again. But you haven’t listened. You haven’t paid any attention to them.They said,‘ Each of you must turn from your evil ways and practices. Then you can stay in the land forever. It’s the land the Lord gave you and your people of long ago.Don’t follow other gods. Don’t serve them or worship them. Don’t make the Lord angry with the gods your own hands have made. Then he won’t harm you.’“‘ But you did not listen to me,’ announces the Lord.‘ You have made me very angry with the gods your hands have made. And you have brought harm on yourselves.’

“ We won’t listen to the message you have spoken to us in the Lord’ s name!

For many years you put up with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. In spite of that, they didn’t pay any attention. So you handed them over to the nations that were around them.

“ Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you. Write down what I have said about Israel, Judah and all the other nations. Write what I have said to you from the time of King Josiah until now.The people of Judah will hear about all the trouble I plan to bring on them. Maybe then each of them will turn from their evil ways. If they do, I will forgive their sins and the evil things they have done.”So Jeremiah sent for Baruch, the son of Neriah. Jeremiah told him to write down all the words the Lord had spoken to him. And Baruch wrote them on the scroll.Then Jeremiah said to him,“ I’m not allowed to go to the Lord’ s temple.So you go there. Go on a day when the people are fasting. Read to them from the scroll. Read the words of the Lord you wrote down as I gave them to you. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns.They will hear what the Lord will do to them when his burning anger blazes out against them. Then perhaps they will pray to him. And maybe each of them will turn from their evil ways.”Baruch, the son of Neriah, did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. He went to the Lord’ s temple. There he read the words of the Lord from the scroll.It was in the fifth year that Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, was king of Judah. It was the ninth month of that year. A time of fasting at the Lord’ s temple had been ordered. All the people in Jerusalem were told to take part in it. So were those who had come in from the towns of Judah.Baruch read to all the people who were at the Lord’ s temple. He read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll. He was in the room of Gemariah the secretary. It was located in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple. Gemariah was the son of Shaphan.

Again and again I sent my servants the prophets. They said,‘ Don’t worship other gods! The Lord hates it!’But the people didn’t listen. They didn’t pay any attention. They didn’t turn from their sinful ways. They didn’t stop burning incense to other gods.

And listen to the words my servants the prophets are speaking. I have sent them to you again and again. But you have not listened to them.

“ Don’t prophesy,” the people’s prophets say.“ Don’t prophesy about bad things. Nothing shameful is going to happen to us.”

“ Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people who remain in Israel and Judah. The Lord has been very angry with us. That’s because our people before us didn’t obey what the Lord had said. They didn’t do everything written in this book.”

So those who are wise keep quiet in times like these. That’s because the times are evil.Look to what is good, not to what is evil. Then you will live. And the Lord God who rules over all will be with you, just as you say he is.Hate evil and love good. Do what is fair in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God who rules over all will have mercy on you. After all, you are the only ones left in the family line of Joseph.

The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the Lord who rules over all. He says,“ Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place.Do not trust in lies. Do not say,‘ This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’You must really change the way you live and act. Treat one another fairly.Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you.If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever.

“ You stubborn people! You won’t obey! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit!Was there ever a prophet your people didn’t try to hurt? They even killed those who told about the coming of the Blameless One. And now you have handed him over to his enemies. You have murdered him.

The Lord tells the people of Judah,“ Stand where the roads cross, and look around. Ask where the old paths are. Ask for the good path, and walk on it. Then your hearts will find rest in me. But you said,‘ We won’t walk on it.’I appointed prophets to warn you. I said,‘ Listen to the sound of the trumpets!’ But you said,‘ We won’t listen.’

“ But our people before us became proud and stubborn. They didn’t obey your commands.

“ But suppose this son has a son of his own. And the son sees all the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.“ Suppose he does not eat at the mountain temples. And he does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods. He does not sleep with another man’s wife.He does not treat anyone badly. He does not make people give him something to prove they will pay back what they owe him. He does not steal. Instead, he gives his food to hungry people. He provides clothes for those who are naked.He keeps himself from committing sins. He does not charge interest when he lends money to poor people. He does not make money from them. He keeps my laws and obeys my rules. He will not die because of his father’s sin. You can be sure he will live.

But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. All the Israelites are very stubborn.But I will make you just as stubborn as they are.I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me.”

We are filled with it. It has been like that ever since the days of our people who lived long ago. Kings of other countries have killed many of us and our kings and priests with their swords. They’ve forced others to leave their own land. They’ve taken them away as prisoners. They’ve robbed others. They’ve made still others feel ashamed and dishonored. All these things have happened to us because we’ve committed so many sins. And that’s how things still are to this day.

But they refused to pay attention to the Lord. They were stubborn. They turned their backs and covered their ears.They made their hearts as hard as the hardest stone. They wouldn’t listen to the law. They wouldn’t pay attention to the Lord’ s messages. So the Lord who rules over all was very angry. After all, his Spirit had spoken to his people through the earlier prophets.“ When I called, they did not listen,” says the Lord.“ So when they called, I would not listen.