"The sins of the people of Judah are written down in a place where they cannot be erased. Their sins were cut into stone with an iron pen. Their sins were cut into stone with a diamond-tipped pen, and that stone is their heart. Their sins were cut into the horns of their altars.
Their children remember the altars that were dedicated to false gods. They remember the wooden poles that were dedicated to Asherah. They remember those things under the green trees and on the hills.
They remember those things on the mountains in the open country. The people of Judah have many treasures. I will give those things to other people. People will destroy all the high places in your country. You worshiped there, and that was a sin.
You will lose the land I gave you. I will let your enemies take you to be their slaves. That is because I am very angry. My anger is like a hot fire, and you will be burned forever."
This is what the Lord says: "Bad things will happen to those who trust only other people. Bad things will happen to those who depend on others for strength. That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.
They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives. It is in a hot and dry land. It is in a bad soil. That bush does not know about the good things that God can give.
They will be strong like trees planted near a stream that send out roots to the water. They have nothing to fear when the days get hot. Their leaves are always green. They never worry, even in a year that has no rain. They always produce fruit.
But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person's heart. I can test a person's mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay. Those who cheat to get money are like that bird. But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money. At the end of their lives, it will be clear they were fools."
Lord, I did not run away from you. I followed you. I became the shepherd you wanted. I did not want the terrible day to come. Lord, you know what I said. You see all that is happening.
People are hurting me. Make them ashamed, but don't disappoint me. Let them be filled with fear, but don't give me any reason to fear. Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies. Break them, and break them again.
This is what the Lord said to me: "Jeremiah, go and stand at the People's Gate, where the kings of Judah go in and out. {Tell the people my message,} and then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the same."
Say to the people, "Listen to the message of the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen to me!
This is what the Lord says: 'Be careful that you don't carry a load on the Sabbath day. And don't bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
Don't bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don't do any work on that day. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors,
but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me.
But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
"'If you obey this command, the kings and leaders will be from David's family. It will be the kings who sit on David's throne and the leaders from Judah and Jerusalem who come through the gates of Jerusalem riding on chariots and on horses. And Jerusalem will have people living in it forever.
People will come to Jerusalem from the towns and villages of Judah, from the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives, from the western foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev. All these people will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
"'But if you don't listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.'"