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Jeremiah

A prophet nobody listened to, grieving a city he couldn't save — and a new covenant on the far side.

Author
Jeremiah
Written
Ministry c. 627–580 BC
Genre
Prophecy
Length
52 chapters · 1,362 verses

What Jeremiah is about

The superscription dates Jeremiah's ministry from Josiah's thirteenth year (627 BC) through the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC). God calls the young prophet with an extraordinary prenatal commissioning, overriding his protest of youth. Two visions—an almond branch (shaqed/shoqed wordplay) and a boiling pot tilting from the north—establish the dual themes of divine watchfulness and coming judgment.

Jeremiah ben Hilkiah was a Levitical priest from Anathoth in Benjamin, called during Josiah's reforms. His ministry spanned the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah—the final tumultuous decades of the Judahite monarchy before the Babylonian exile.

Key themes

WarningGriefNew covenantFaithfulness

Every verse in Jeremiah, explained

All 144 verses of Jeremiah have a page of their own — what the verse means, who is speaking, and where it sits in the story. Tap any verse number inside a chapter to open it.

Where to start in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 1 · The Weeping ProphetJeremiah 17 · The Heart Is DeceitfulJeremiah 29 · Plans for HopeJeremiah 31 · The New Covenant

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All 52 chapters

Jeremiah
1 The Weeping Prophet Called as a young man, told not to marry, and given a message no one wants to hear. Jeremiah's life is the message — and it costs him everything. 2 The Forsaken Spring My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and dug their own cisterns — broken ones that cannot hold water. 3 The Unfaithful Wife God uses the language of divorce and adultery. Israel and Judah have been faithless — but the invitation to return still stands. 4 Disaster from the North A lion has left its lair. A destroyer of nations is on the way. Jeremiah can hear the trumpets of war already. 5 Search the Streets Run through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one person who deals honestly and seeks truth, God will pardon the city. The search comes up empty. 6 The Rejected Watch Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths, the good way — and walk in it. But the people said: we will not walk in it. 7 The Temple Sermon Do not trust in deceptive words: the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. The building won't save you if the behavior doesn't change. 8 No Balm in Gilead The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Is there no balm in Gilead? Jeremiah's heartbreak becomes a question for the ages. 9 A Fountain of Tears Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears. The weeping prophet earns his name. 10 The Living God and Dead Idols The customs of the peoples are worthless — they cut a tree, a craftsman shapes it, they deck it with silver and gold. But the Lord is the true God, the living God. 11 The Broken Covenant God reminds Judah of the covenant they made at Sinai — and lists every way they've violated it. Even Jeremiah's hometown plots against him. 12 Why Do the Wicked Prosper? Jeremiah dares to question God: why does the way of the wicked prosper? God's answer is not comforting: if you stumble with footmen, how will you compete with horses? 13 The Ruined Belt God tells Jeremiah to bury a linen belt and retrieve it later — ruined. Like the belt, Judah was meant to cling to God. They've rotted instead. 14 Drought and Deception A devastating drought strikes the land. False prophets promise peace. Jeremiah prays — and God says: do not pray for this people. 15 The Prophet's Complaint Jeremiah wishes he'd never been born. Your words were found, and I ate them — they were my joy. But the loneliness of truth-telling is crushing. 16 No Wedding, No Funeral God forbids Jeremiah to marry, attend funerals, or go to feasts. His entire life becomes a prophetic sign of the devastation to come. 17 The Heart Is Deceitful The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick — who can understand it? Cursed is the one who trusts in man. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. 18 The Potter's House Go down to the potter's house. God reshapes clay as He wills — and the potter's rights over the clay carry a warning. 19 The Shattered Jar Jeremiah smashes a clay jar in front of the elders. This is what God will do to Jerusalem. Once shattered, it cannot be mended. 20 Jeremiah in the Stocks Beaten and locked in stocks overnight. Jeremiah erupts: You deceived me, Lord! But His word is like a fire shut up in my bones — I cannot hold it in. 21 No Escape Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to pray for Jerusalem. The answer: God Himself will fight against this city. The only option is surrender. 22 The Doomed Kings A series of judgments against Judah's kings. They built their palaces on injustice — and will be carried away like pottery thrown from a window. 23 The Righteous Branch Woe to the shepherds who scatter the flock. But a day is coming: a righteous Branch from David's line. His name will be The Lord Our Righteousness. 24 Two Baskets of Figs God shows Jeremiah two baskets — one of good figs, one rotten. The exiles are the good figs. Those who stayed behind are the bad ones. The logic is backward, on purpose. 25 Seventy Years Jeremiah has prophesied for twenty-three years and no one has listened. Now the sentence: seventy years of exile. The cup of God's wrath goes to every nation. 26 On Trial for His Life Jeremiah preaches in the temple court and is seized. Prophets and priests demand his death. He stands his ground: the Lord sent me. 27 The Yoke Jeremiah wears a wooden yoke around his neck. Serve Babylon and live. Resist and die. The most unpopular message imaginable. 28 The False Prophet Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's yoke and promises deliverance in two years. Jeremiah walks away. God sends him back with a yoke of iron. 29 Plans for Hope Written to exiles in Babylon: settle in, plant gardens, seek the city's welfare. And know this — I have plans for you. Plans for hope. 30 Restoration Promised Write in a book all the words I have spoken. Terror and pain are coming — but beyond them, restoration. Jacob's trouble will end. 31 The New Covenant God promises something revolutionary: a covenant written not on stone but on hearts. No longer external rules — internal transformation. 32 The Field at Anathoth Jerusalem is under siege. God tells Jeremiah to buy a field — a real estate transaction in the middle of a war. Faith as an act of absurd hope. 33 The Unbreakable Promise Call to me and I will answer you. If you can break my covenant with the day and the night, only then can my covenant with David be broken. 34 Broken Promises The people free their slaves — then take them back. God's response: since you haven't given freedom, I'm giving you freedom — to the sword, plague, and famine. 35 The Rechabites A family that kept a vow their ancestor made generations ago — they won't drink wine. God holds them up as a rebuke to Judah, who can't keep any promise. 36 The Burned Scroll Jeremiah dictates God's words. The king cuts the scroll with a knife and burns it, column by column. Jeremiah writes it all again — with additions. 37 Jeremiah Imprisoned Jeremiah tries to leave Jerusalem and is arrested as a traitor. Thrown into a dungeon. The king secretly asks: is there a word from the Lord? 38 The Mud Cistern Officials throw Jeremiah into a cistern — he sinks into the mud. A foreigner named Ebed-Melech pulls him out with rags and ropes. 39 Jerusalem Falls The walls are breached. The king captured. The city burned. Everything Jeremiah warned about for forty years happens in a single day. 40 After the Fall Jeremiah is freed from chains. A governor named Gedaliah tries to rebuild. A fragile peace in the rubble. 41 Gedaliah Murdered Ishmael assassinates the governor and throws bodies in a cistern. The brief hope for stability dies with a single act of treachery. 42 Ask God, Then Ignore Him The survivors beg Jeremiah to ask God what they should do. He tells them: stay in the land. They've already decided to flee to Egypt. 43 To Egypt Against God's Will They drag Jeremiah to Egypt with them. God tells him to bury stones in the pavement — Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne on this very spot. 44 The Queen of Heaven In Egypt, the refugees burn incense to the queen of heaven and say: things were better when we worshiped other gods. Jeremiah gives his final, futile warning. 45 Baruch's Consolation A short, private word for Jeremiah's scribe: Do not seek great things for yourself. But your life — that I will give you as a prize of war. 46 Against Egypt The oracles against the nations begin. Egypt's army marches to the Euphrates — and is shattered. God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant. 47 Against the Philistines A sword out of the north. The waters rise. Fathers don't look back for their children. A brief, devastating oracle. 48 Against Moab Moab has been at ease from its youth, like wine undisturbed on its sediment. Now it will be poured out — and its complacency shattered. 49 Against the Nations Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam — each receives its sentence. No nation is beyond the reach of God's justice. 50 Babylon Will Fall The destroyer of nations will itself be destroyed. Babylon's judgment is announced in the book's longest oracle — because pride at this scale requires a proportional response. 51 The Hammer Shattered Babylon was God's hammer against the nations — but now the hammer itself is broken. A scroll tied to a stone sinks in the Euphrates. So shall Babylon sink. 52 The Final Record A historical appendix: the siege, the fall, the deportation, the temple stripped. The last detail is a king lifted from prison and given a seat at the table.
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