Mattot

Mattot Posted On Jan 1, 1980 | Haftarah Reading
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This haftarah is read on Shabbat Pinehas when it falls after the 17th of Tammuz.

This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh

Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:3 

Chapter 1

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, 3 and throughout the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, when Jerusalem went into exile in the fifth month.

4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 Before I created you in the womb, I selected you;
Before you were born, I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations.
6 I replied:
Ah, Lord God!
I don’t know how to speak,
For I am still a boy.
7 And the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am still a boy,”
But go wherever I send you
And speak whatever I command you.
8 Have no fear of them,
For I am with you to deliver you
–declares the Lord–

9 The Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: Herewith I put My words into your mouth.

10 See, I appoint you this day
Over nations and kingdoms:
To uproot and to pull down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.

11 The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? I replied: I see a branch of an almond tree.

12 The Lord said to me:
You have seen right,
For I am watchful to bring My word to pass.
13 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time: What do you see? I replied:
I see a steaming pot,
Tipped away from the north.
14 And the Lord said to me:
From the north shall disaster break loose
Upon all the inhabitants of the land!
15 For I am summoning all the peoples
of the kingdoms of the north
–declares the Lord–
They shall come, and shall each set up a throne
Before the gates of Jerusalem,
Against its walls roundabout,
And against all the towns of Judah.
16 And I will argue My case against them
For all their wickedness:
They have forsaken Me
And sacrificed to other gods
And worshiped the works of their hands.
17 So you, gird up your loins,
Arise and speak to them
All that I command you.
Do not break down before them,
Lest I break you before them.
18 I make you this day
A fortified city,
And an iron pillar,
And bronze walls
Against the whole land–
Against Judah’s kings and officers,
And against its priests and citizens.
19 They will attack you,
But they shall not overcome you;
For I am with you–declares the Lord–to save you.

Chapter 2

1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said the Lord:
I accounted to your favor
The devotion of your youth,
Your love as a bride–
How you followed Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the Lord,
The first fruits of His harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
Disaster befell them
–declares the Lord–

Taken from Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.
Used by permission of The Jewish Publication Society. Copyright © 1962, 1992
Third Edition by the Jewish Publication Society.
No part of this text can be reproduced or forwarded without written permission.
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