16 The Lord said to his people:[a] “You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path.[b] Ask where the old, reliable paths[c] are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing[d] and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls.” But they said, “We will not follow it!”

6 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem![a] Sound the trumpet[b] in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks[c] out of the north; it will bring great destruction.[d]

14 Because of that,[a] the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies[b] said to me:[c] “Because these people have spoken[d] like this,[e] I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire. And I will make this people like wood, which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”[f]

5 The Lord said,[a] “Go up and down[b] through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and see for yourselves. Search through its public squares. See if any of you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.[c] If you can,[d] then I will not punish this city.[e]

19 I said,[a] “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach![b] I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart![c] My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet;[d] the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul![e]

4 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me,[a] you must get those disgusting idols[b] out of my sight and must no longer go astray.[c]

19 “I thought to myself,[a] ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son![b] What a joy it would be for me to give[c] you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’[d] I thought you would call me ‘Father’[e] and would never cease being loyal to me.[f]

6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done.[a] You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.[b] 7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me.[c] But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.[d]