Bible Book of Jeremiah | Judgment and New Covenant
The weeping prophet's warnings to Judah of impending judgment and the promise of a future New Covenant. Jeremiah chapters with summary and commentary.
Genre: Major Prophet. Theme: Judgment and New Covenant
- Author: Jeremiah
- Date: c. 627-580 BC
- Read Time: 240 mins
- Purpose: To warn of destruction and promise a New Covenant.
- Key Verse: Jer 31:33 - I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.
- Christ: Righteous Branch and New Covenant Mediator.
- Audience: The final generation of Judah before the total fall of Jerusalem
- Sobriquet: Known as the 'Weeping Prophet' for his intense emotional involvement in his message.
- New Covenant: The explicit announcement that the Mosaic Law would be replaced by an internal spiritual law.
Jeremiah documents the final spiritual collapse of Jerusalem, preaching for 40 years without a single national convert.
A chaotic blend of biography, poetry, and prophecy that reflects the crumbling world around the prophet.
Jesus is the Righteous Branch (23:5) and the Mediator of the New Covenant promised in chapter 31.
Jeremiah 1 - The Call of Jeremiah
The LORD said to me: I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Do not be afraid. I am calling the northern kingdoms against Judah.
Jeremiah 2 - Israel Forsakes the Lord
Go and proclaim: My people have exchanged their glory for idols. You have all rebelled against me. Now I will bring you to judgement.
Jeremiah 3 - Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
Israel played the whore on every hill. Her false sister Judah saw it. Return, O faithless children! Surely the LORD is our salvation.
Jeremiah 4 - Disaster from the North
Flee to safety! I am bringing disaster from the north, says the LORD. I have heard the trumpet! The whole land shall be a desolation.
Jeremiah 5 - Jerusalem Refused to Repent
Israel and Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me. I am bringing a distant nation against you. Your sins have deprived you of good.
Jeremiah 6 - Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
Flee from Jerusalem! I appointed watchmen but you would not listen. An army is coming from the north. My people are rejected silver.
Jeremiah 7 - Evil in the Land
Proclaim at the temple: Has this house become a den of thieves? I sent prophets but you did not listen. Judah will become desolate.
Jeremiah 8 - Sin and Treachery
Why do these people refuse to return? They have no shame. The LORD has doomed us because we have sinned. Is there no balm in Gilead?
Jeremiah 9 - Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep
No one speaks the truth. I will scatter these people, says the LORD. The sound of wailing is heard from Zion. I act with justice.
Jeremiah 10 - Idols and the Living God
Do not learn the ways of the nations. The LORD is the true God. Listen, a great commotion from the north! They have devoured Jacob.
Jeremiah 11 - The Broken Covenant
Both Israel and Judah have broken my covenant. I will bring disaster. Do not pray for them. I will punish those who seek your life.
Jeremiah 12 - Jeremiah's Complaint
O LORD, why do the wicked prosper? I have left my house. Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard. I will uproot my evil neighbours.
Jeremiah 13 - The Ruined Loincloth
The LORD told me to hide a sash in the rocks. So I will ruin the pride of Judah, says the LORD. All Judah will be carried into exile.
Jeremiah 14 - Famine, Sword, and Pestilence
There is no water in the cisterns. O LORD, do not forsake us! I will destroy them by sword and by famine. Can any idols bring rain?
Jeremiah 15 - The Lord Will Not Relent
Send these people away from my presence! Who will mourn for Jerusalem? O LORD, I suffer insult for you. I am with you, says the LORD.
Jeremiah 16 - Famine, Sword, and Death
The LORD said to me: Do not marry or have children. Why has the LORD pronounced evil against us? You have followed your evil hearts.
Jeremiah 17 - The Sin of Judah
Cursed are those who trust in man. Blessed are those who trust in the LORD. If you keep the Sabbath, Jerusalem will remain forever.
Jeremiah 18 - The Potter and Clay
The LORD said: Go to the potter. You are clay in my hand, O Israel. My people have forgotten me. O LORD, they have dug a pit for me.
Jeremiah 19 - The Broken Flask
The LORD said: Buy a clay jar. These people have burned sacrifices to foreign gods. Then break the jar. So I will smash this nation.
Jeremiah 20 - Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
Pashhur put Jeremiah in the stocks. Everyone mocks me. But the word of the LORD is a fire in my bones. Cursed be the day I was born!
Jeremiah 21 - Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar
Zedekiah enquired about Nebuchadnezzar. The LORD says: Whoever stays in the city will die. Nebuchadnezzar will destroy it with fire.
Jeremiah 22 - Message to the evil Kings
Proclaim at the palace: I will make you a desert. Shallum will not return. They will not lament for Jehoiakim. Coniah is cast away.
Jeremiah 23 - The Righteous Branch
I will raise up a righteous Branch, says the LORD. The prophets fill you with false hopes. I did not speak, yet they have prophesied.
Jeremiah 24 - The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
The LORD showed me two baskets of figs after the exile to Babylon. The good figs are the exiles. The bad figs are those who remain.
Jeremiah 25 - Seventy Years of Captivity
You did not listen, says the LORD. So I will summon Babylon. Make the nations drink my cup of wrath. The LORD will roar from on high.
Jeremiah 26 - Jeremiah Threatened with Death
The LORD said: Speak in the courts. The priests seized Jeremiah to kill him, but the officials refused. Uriah had been put to death.
Jeremiah 27 - The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
The LORD said: Put a yoke on your neck. I will hand all the nations over to serve Nebuchadnezzar. Do not listen to your prophets.
Jeremiah 28 - Hananiah the False Prophet
Hananiah took Jeremiah's yoke and broke it. The LORD said: Tell Hananiah, I have put an iron yoke on these nations. Hananiah died.
Jeremiah 29 - Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles
Jeremiah wrote to the exiles: Seek peace for the city. After seventy years you will return. Ahab, Zedekiah and Shemaiah speak lies.
Jeremiah 30 - Restoration for Israel and Judah
Write these words in a book. I will restore my people, says the LORD. I have punished you but I will heal you. I will be your God.
Jeremiah 31 - The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy
Sing with joy for Jacob! Return to your cities. I will make a new covenant with Israel, says the LORD. I will put my law within them.
Jeremiah 32 - Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
Jeremiah bought a field in Anathoth. O LORD, the city has been handed over to Babylon. The LORD says: I will surely gather my people.
Jeremiah 33 - The Lord Promises Peace
The LORD says: I will tell you great things. I will bring healing to the land. David will never lack a son on the throne of Israel.
Jeremiah 34 - Zedekiah to Die in Babylon
Tell Zedekiah: You will not escape the king of Babylon. The people took back their slaves. The LORD says: You have not obeyed me.
Jeremiah 35 - The Faithful Rechabites
The Rechabites refused to drink wine. The LORD said to Judah: The command of Jonadab has been obeyed, yet you have not obeyed me.
Jeremiah 36 - Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll
Baruch read out Jeremiah's words at the temple. The king sent for the scroll and burned it. The LORD said: I will bring disaster.
Jeremiah 37 - King Zedekiah's vain hope
Zedekiah became king. Jeremiah said: Do not think the Babylonians will leave us. Irijah arrested Jeremiah. Zedekiah gave him bread.
Jeremiah 38 - Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern
Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern. Zedekiah sent for him. Jeremiah said: If you surrender to the king of Babylon then you will live.
Jeremiah 39 - The Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonians besieged Jerusalem and captured Zedekiah. They took the people into exile. Nebuchadnezzar said: Do not harm Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 40 - Jeremiah Remains in Judah
Nebuzaradan said to Jeremiah: Go back to Gedaliah, who has been appointed over Judah. The captains warned Gedaliah about Ishmael.
Jeremiah 41 - Gedaliah Murdered
Ishmael killed Gedaliah and eighty men. Johanan went to fight Ishmael but he escaped. Johanan led the survivors on the way to Egypt.
Jeremiah 42 - Warning Against Going to Egypt
The people asked Jeremiah to pray. The LORD says: If you stay in the land, I will grant you mercy. If you go to Egypt, you will die.
Jeremiah 43 - Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
Johanan and all the people did not obey the LORD. They went to Egypt. The LORD said: Nebuchadnezzar will ravage the land of Egypt.
Jeremiah 44 - Judgment for Idolatry
The LORD says: Why do you provoke me with other gods? The people said: We will not listen. The LORD says: I am going to punish you.
Jeremiah 45 - Message to Baruch
When Baruch wrote these words, the LORD said to him: I am going to break what I have built. Do not seek great things for yourself.
Jeremiah 46 - Judgment on Egypt
Of Egypt: There is no healing for you. Prepare yourselves for exile. I will deliver Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar. But fear not, O Jacob!
Jeremiah 47 - Judgment on the Philistines
Of the Philistines: Waters are rising from the north. The LORD is destroying the Philistines. How can the sword of the LORD be quiet?
Jeremiah 48 - Judgment on Moab
Of Moab: Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste. We have heard of his arrogance. How it is broken! Moab has become a derision to all.
Jeremiah 49 - Judgment on Ammon
The LORD says: Rabbah will become desolate. I will make Edom small. Damascus has become feeble. Flee, O Hazor. I will destroy Elam.
Jeremiah 50 - Judgment on Babylon
Of Babylon: A nation will make her desolate. Judah will seek the LORD. Repay Babylon for all her deeds. A sword against her warriors!
Jeremiah 51 - The Utter Destruction of Babylon
The LORD says: I will send a destroyer against Babylon. I will repay them for the evil done in Zion. Read these words in Babylon.
Jeremiah 52 - The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted
Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan burned the temple and took the people into exile. Evil-merodach released Jehoiachin.