Bible Reading Plan

Cities of Judah Warned

¹ In the beginning of the reign of ^(C1)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying,² "This is what the LORD says: '^(C1)Stand in the courtyard of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(C2)come to worship in the LORD'S house ^(C3)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(C4)Do not omit a word!³ '^(C1)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and ^(C2)I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.'⁴ "And you shall say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)If you do not listen to Me, to ^(C2)walk in My Law which I have set before you,⁵ to listen to the words of ^(C1)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened;⁶ then I will make this house like ^(C1)Shiloh, and I will make this city a ^(C2)curse to all the nations of the earth."'"

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷ The ^(C1)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.⁸ Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "^(C1)You must die!⁹ "Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, 'This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(C1)in ruins, without inhabitant'?" And ^(C2)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the LORD.

¹⁰ When the ^(C1)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD and sat at the ^(C2)entrance of the New Gate of the LORD'S house.¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets ^(C1)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, "A ^(C2)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(C3)against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!"

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, "^(C1)The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.¹³ "Now then, ^(C1)reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you.¹⁴ "But as for me, behold, ^(C1)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight.¹⁵ "Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(C1)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words ^(F1)so that you hear them."

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people ^(C1)said to the priests and the prophets, "No ^(C2)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God."¹⁷ Then ^(C1)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,¹⁸ "^(F1)(C1)Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, 'This is what the LORD of armies has said:

"^(C2)Zion will be plowed like a field,
And Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins,
And the ^(C3)mountain of the house like the ^(F2)high places of a forest."'

²⁰ Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(C1)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.²¹ When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(C1)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he ^(C2)fled and went to Egypt.²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(C1)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt.²³ And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(C1)killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the ^(F1)burial place of the ^(F2)common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(C1)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(C2)not handed over to the people to put him to death.

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

¹ In the beginning of the reign of ^(F1)(C1)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying—² this is what the LORD has said to me: "Make for yourself ^(C1)restraints and ^(C2)yokes and put them on your neck,³ and send ^(F1)word to the king of ^(C1)Edom, the king of ^(C1)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(C1)Ammon, the king of ^(C1)Tyre, and to the king of ^(C1)Sidon ^(F2)by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.⁴ "Order them to go to their masters, saying, 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "This is what you shall say to your masters:⁵ '^(C1)I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth ^(C2)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(C3)give it to the one who is ^(F1)pleasing in My sight.⁶ 'And now I ^(C1)have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(C2)My servant, and I have also given him the ^(C3)animals of the field to serve him.⁷ '^(C1)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(C2)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(C3)many nations and great kings will ^(F1)make him their servant.

⁸ 'And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which ^(C1)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(C2)sword, with famine, and with plague,' declares the LORD, 'until I have eliminated ^(F1)it by his hand.⁹ 'And as for you, ^(C1)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^(F1)dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, "You will not serve the king of Babylon."¹⁰ 'For they are prophesying a ^(C1)lie to you in order to ^(C2)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish.¹¹ 'But the nation that will ^(C1)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(C2)let remain on its land,' declares the LORD, 'and they will cultivate it and live in it.'"'"

¹² I spoke words like all these to ^(C1)Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!¹³ "Why should you ^(C1)die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the LORD has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?¹⁴ "So ^(C1)do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying a ^(C2)lie to you;¹⁵ for ^(C1)I have not sent them," declares the LORD, "but they are ^(C2)prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will ^(C3)drive you away and that you will perish, ^(C4)you and the prophets who prophesy to you."

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: "This is what the LORD says: 'Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, "Behold, the ^(C1)vessels of the LORD'S house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon"; for they are prophesying a ^(C2)lie to you.¹⁷ 'Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(C1)become a place of ruins?¹⁸ 'But ^(C1)if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, have them now ^(C2)plead with the LORD of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon.¹⁹ 'For this is what the LORD of armies says concerning the ^(C1)pillars, concerning the ^(F1)sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(C1)led into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—²¹ 'Yes, this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:²² "They will be ^(C1)brought to Babylon and will be there until the ^(C2)day I visit them," declares the LORD. "Then I will ^(C3)bring them ^(F1)back and restore them to this place."'"

Hananiah's False Prophecy

¹ Now in the same year, ^(C1)in the beginning of the reign of ^(C2)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(C3)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(C4)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the LORD in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying,² "^(C1)This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.³ 'Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(C1)all the vessels of the LORD'S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon.⁴ 'I am ^(C1)also going to bring back to this place ^(C2)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(C3)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, 'for I will break the ^(C4)yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the ^(C1)house of the LORD,⁶ and Jeremiah the prophet said, "^(C1)Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD'S house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place.⁷ "Yet ^(C1)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^(F1)so that you and all the people can hear it!⁸ "The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(C1)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague.⁹ "As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(C1)when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(C1)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, "^(C1)This is what the LORD says: 'Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.'" Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Then the ^(C1)word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying,¹³ "Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: "You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made ^(C1)yokes of iron."¹⁴ 'For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "I have put a ^(C1)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(C2)serve him. And ^(C3)I have also given him the animals of the field."'"¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen now, Hananiah: the LORD has not sent you, and ^(C1)you have made this people trust in a lie.¹⁶ "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: '^(C1)Behold, I am going to ^(F1)remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(C2)die, because you ^(C3)spoke falsely against the LORD.'"

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

Message to the Exiles

¹ Now these are the words of the ^(C1)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.² (This was after King ^(C1)Jeconiah and the ^(C2)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.)³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(C1)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,⁴ "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have ^(C1)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:⁵ '^(C1)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^(F1)produce.⁶ 'Take ^(C1)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease.⁷ '^(C1)Seek the ^(F1)prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(C2)pray to the LORD in its behalf; for ^(F2)in its ^(F1)prosperity will be your ^(F1)prosperity.'⁸ "For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Do not let your ^(C1)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(C2)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(C3)your dreams which you dream.⁹ 'For they ^(C1)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(C2)I have not sent them,' declares the LORD.

¹⁰ "For this is what the LORD says: 'When ^(C1)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(C2)good word to you, to bring you back to this place.¹¹ 'For I know the ^(C1)plans that I ^(F1)have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for ^(F2)(C2)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(C3)hope.¹² 'Then you will ^(C1)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(C2)listen to you.¹³ 'And you will ^(C1)seek Me and find Me when you ^(C2)search for Me with all your heart.¹⁴ 'I will let Myself be ^(C1)found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will ^(C2)restore your fortunes and ^(C3)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will ^(C4)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'

¹⁵ "Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up ^(C1)prophets for us in Babylon'—¹⁶ for this is what the LORD says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did ^(C1)not go with you into exile—¹⁷ this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(C1)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like ^(C2)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.¹⁸ 'I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ^(C1)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(C2)curse and an object of horror and ^(F1)(C3)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them,¹⁹ because they have ^(C1)not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by ^(C2)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD.²⁰ 'You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have ^(C1)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are ^(C1)prophesying to you falsely in My name: "Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes.²² "Because of them a ^(C1)curse will be ^(F1)used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, 'May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ^(C2)roasted in the fire,'²³ because they ^(C1)acted ^(F1)foolishly in Israel, and ^(C2)committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and falsely ^(C3)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who ^(C4)knows, and a witness," declares the LORD.'"

²⁴ Now you shall speak to ^(C1)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,²⁵ "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Because you have sent ^(C1)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(C2)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,²⁶ "The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ^(F1)(C1)overseer of the house of the LORD for every ^(C2)insane person who ^(C3)prophesies, to ^(C4)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar.²⁷ "So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(C1)Anathoth who prophesies to you,²⁸ seeing that he has ^(C1)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, '^(F1)The exile will be ^(C2)long; ^(C3)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their ^(F2)produce'?"'"

²⁹ Now ^(C1)Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^(F1)to Jeremiah the prophet.³⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,³¹ "Send word to ^(C1)all the exiles, saying, 'This is what the LORD says concerning ^(C2)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah has ^(C3)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(C4)made you trust in a lie,"³² therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^(F1)descendants; he will ^(C2)not have anyone living among this people, ^(C3)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people," declares the LORD, "because he has ^(C4)spoken falsely against the LORD."'"

Liberation from Captivity Promised

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.³ 'For behold, ^(C1)days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will ^(C2)restore the fortunes of My people ^(C3)Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also ^(C4)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.'"

⁴ Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

⁵ "For this is what the LORD says:

'^(F1)I have heard a sound of ^(C1)terror,
Of fear, and there is no peace.

⁶ 'Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his waist, ^(C1)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?

⁷ 'Woe, for that ^(C1)day is great,
There is ^(C2)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob's ^(C3)distress,
Yet he will be ^(C4)saved from it.

⁸ 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of armies, 'that I will ^(C1)break his yoke from ^(F1)their necks and will tear to pieces ^(F2)their ^(C2)restraints; and strangers will no longer ^(C3)make ^(F3)them their slaves.⁹ 'But they shall serve the LORD their God and ^(C1)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰ 'And ^(C1)do not fear, Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD,
'And do not be dismayed, Israel;
For behold, I am going to save you ^(C2)from far away,
And your ^(F1)descendants from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)at peace, without anxiety,
And ^(C4)no one will make him afraid.

¹¹ 'For ^(C1)I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you;
For I will completely ^(C2)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will ^(C3)not destroy you completely.
But I will ^(C4)discipline you fairly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.'

¹² "For this is what the LORD says:
'Your broken limb is irreparable,
And your ^(C1)wound is incurable.

¹³ 'There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
^(C1)No recovery for you.

¹⁴ 'All your ^(C1)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have ^(C2)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the ^(C3)punishment of a ^(C4)cruel one,
Because your ^(C5)wrongdoing is great,
And your ^(C6)sins are numerous.

¹⁵ 'Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your wrongdoing is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.

¹⁶ 'Therefore all who ^(C1)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, ^(C2)will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will become plunder,
And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.

¹⁷ 'For I will ^(F1)restore you to ^(F2)(C1)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD,
'Because they have called you an ^(C2)outcast, saying:
"It is Zion; no one ^(F3)cares for her."'

Restoration of Jacob

¹⁸ "This is what the LORD says:
'Behold, I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And ^(C2)have compassion on his dwellings;
And the ^(C3)city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
And the ^(C4)palace will stand on its rightful place.

¹⁹ 'From them will come a ^(C1)song of thanksgiving
And the voices of those who ^(F1)(C2)celebrate;
And I will ^(C3)multiply them and they will not decrease;
I will ^(C4)honor them and they will not be insignificant.

²⁰ '^(F1)Their children also will be as before,
And ^(F2)their congregation will be ^(C1)established before Me;
And I will punish all ^(F2)their oppressors.

²¹ '^(F1)Their ^(C1)leader shall be one of them,
And ^(F1)their ruler will come out from ^(F1)their midst;
And I will ^(C2)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For ^(F2)who would dare to risk his life to ^(C3)approach Me?' declares the LORD.

²² 'You shall be ^(C1)My people,
And I will be your God.'"

²³ Behold, the ^(C1)tempest of the LORD!
Wrath has gone forth,
A ^(F1)sweeping tempest;
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴ The ^(C1)fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed and accomplished
The intent of His heart.
In the ^(C2)latter days you will understand this.

Israel's Mourning Turned to Joy

¹ "At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the ^(C1)God of all the ^(C2)families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

² This is what the LORD says:
"The people who survived the sword
^(C1)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to ^(C2)find its rest."

³ The LORD appeared to ^(F1)him ^(F2)long ago, saying,
"I have ^(C1)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(C2)kindness.

⁴ "^(C1)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will ^(F1)take up your ^(C2)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the ^(C3)revelers.

⁵ "Again you will ^(C1)plant vineyards
On the ^(F1)hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will ^(F2)enjoy the fruit.

⁶ "For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
'Arise, and ^(C1)let's go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.'"

⁷ For this is what the LORD says:
"^(C1)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the ^(F1)(C2)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
'LORD, ^(C3)save Your people,
The ^(C4)remnant of Israel!'

⁸ "Behold, I am ^(C1)bringing them from the north country,
And I will ^(C2)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are ^(C3)blind and those who ^(C4)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.

⁹ "^(C1)They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by ^(C2)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will ^(C3)not stumble;
For I am a ^(C4)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is ^(C5)My firstborn."

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you nations,
And declare it in the ^(C1)coastlands far away,
And say, "He who scattered Israel will ^(C2)gather him,
And He will keep him as a ^(C3)shepherd keeps his flock."

¹¹ For the LORD has ^(C1)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(C2)stronger than he.

¹² "They will ^(C1)come and shout for joy on the ^(C2)height of Zion,
And they will be ^(C3)radiant over the ^(F1)bounty of the LORD—
Over the ^(C4)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the ^(C5)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a ^(C6)watered garden,
And they will ^(C7)never languish again.

¹³ "Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(C1)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will ^(C2)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them ^(C3)joy for their sorrow.

¹⁴ "I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^(F1)abundance,
And My people will be ^(C1)satisfied with My goodness," declares the LORD.

¹⁵ This is what the LORD says:
"^(C1)A voice is heard in ^(C2)Ramah,
Lamenting and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She ^(C3)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(C4)they are no more."

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the ^(C1)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.² Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah,³ because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(C1)imprisoned him, saying, "Why do you ^(C2)prophesy, saying, '^(C3)This is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C4)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it;⁴ and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(C1)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(C2)speak with him ^(F1)face to face and see him eye to eye.⁵ Then he will ^(C1)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(C2)not succeed"'?"

⁶ And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,⁷ 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself my field which is at ^(C1)Anathoth, for you have the ^(C2)right of redemption to buy it."'⁸ "Then my uncle's son Hanamel came to me in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the LORD and said to me, 'Buy my field, please, that is at ^(C2)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the ^(C3)word of the LORD.

⁹ "So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle's son, and I ^(C1)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen ^(C2)shekels of silver.¹⁰ "And I ^(F1)(C1)signed and ^(C2)sealed the deed, and ^(C3)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.¹¹ "Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the ^(C1)terms and conditions and the open copy;¹² and I gave the deed of purchase to ^(C1)Baruch the son of ^(C2)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle's son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard.¹³ "And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying,¹⁴ 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may ^(F1)last a long time."¹⁵ 'For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "^(C1)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land."'

Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

¹⁶ "After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I ^(C1)prayed to the LORD, saying,¹⁷ '^(C1)Oh, Lord ^(F1)GOD! Behold, You Yourself have ^(C2)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! ^(C3)Nothing is too difficult for You,¹⁸ who ^(C1)shows mercy to thousands, but ^(C2)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, ^(C3)great and ^(C4)mighty God. The ^(C5)LORD of armies is His name;^19 (C1)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose ^(C2)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, ^(C3)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;²⁰ who has ^(C1)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have ^(C2)made a name for Yourself, as at this day.²¹ 'You ^(C1)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;²² and You gave them this land, which You ^(C1)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.²³ 'They ^(C1)came in and took possession of it, but they ^(C2)did not obey Your voice or ^(C3)walk in Your Law; they did not do ^(F1)anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made ^(C4)all this disaster happen to them.²⁴ 'Behold, the ^(C1)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been ^(C2)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the ^(C3)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has ^(C4)come to pass; and behold, You see it.²⁵ 'Yet You have said to me, Lord ^(F1)GOD, "Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses"—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.'"

²⁶ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,²⁷ "Behold, I am the LORD, the ^(C1)God of all flesh; is anything ^(C2)too difficult for Me?"²⁸ Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.²⁹ "And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and ^(C1)set this city on fire and burn it, with the ^(C2)houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.³⁰ "For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only ^(C1)evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only ^(C2)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands," declares the LORD.³¹ "Indeed this city has been to Me a ^(C1)provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be ^(C2)removed from My sight,³² because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their ^(C1)kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.³³ "They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, ^(C1)teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline.³⁴ "But they ^(C1)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.³⁵ "They built the ^(C1)high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to ^(C2)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it ^(F1)entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

³⁶ "Now therefore the LORD God of Israel says the following concerning this city of which you say, 'It has been ^(C1)handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague':³⁷ "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and ^(C2)have them live in safety.³⁸ "They shall be ^(C1)My people, and I will be their God;³⁹ and I will ^(C1)give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own ^(C2)good and for the good of their children after them.⁴⁰ "I will make an ^(C1)everlasting covenant with them that I will ^(C2)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will ^(C3)put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me.⁴¹ "I will ^(C1)rejoice over them to do them good and will ^(F1)faithfully ^(C2)plant them in this land with ^(C3)all My heart and all My soul.⁴² "For this is what the LORD says: '^(C1)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to ^(C2)bring on them all the good that I am promising them.⁴³ 'And ^(C1)fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, "^(C2)It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans."⁴⁴ 'People will buy fields for money, ^(F1)(C1)sign and seal ^(F2)deeds, and call in witnesses in the ^(C2)land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the ^(F3)Negev; for I will ^(C3)restore their fortunes,' declares the LORD."

Restoration Promised

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still ^(C1)confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying,² "This is what ^(C1)the LORD says, He who made ^(F1)the earth, the LORD who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ^(C2)LORD:³ '^(C1)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ^(C2)great and ^(F1)mighty things, ^(C3)which you do not know.'⁴ "For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says concerning the ^(C1)houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ^(C2)assault ramps and the sword:⁵ 'While they are coming to ^(C1)fight the Chaldeans and to fill ^(F1)their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ^(C2)hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:⁶ 'Behold, I am going to bring to it ^(C1)healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ^(C2)abundance of peace and truth.⁷ 'And I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ^(C2)rebuild them as they were at first.⁸ 'And I will ^(C1)cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me.⁹ '^(F1)It will be to Me a ^(C1)name of joy, praise, and glory before ^(C2)all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ^(C3)good that I do for them, and they will be ^(C4)frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.'

¹⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, "It is a ^(C1)waste, without man and without animal," that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ^(C2)deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,¹¹ the voice of ^(C1)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

"^(C2)Give thanks to the LORD of armies,
For the LORD is good,
For His mercy is everlasting,"
as they bring a ^(C3)thanksgiving offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the LORD.

¹² "This is what the LORD of armies says: 'There will again be in this place which is waste, ^(C1)without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ^(C2)flocks.¹³ 'In the ^(C1)cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again ^(C2)pass under the hands of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.

The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴ 'Behold, ^(C1)days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will ^(C2)fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.¹⁵ 'In those days and at that time I will make a ^(C1)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(C2)justice and righteousness on the earth.¹⁶ 'In those days ^(C1)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(C2)LORD is our righteousness.'¹⁷ "For this is what the LORD says: '^(F1)David shall ^(C1)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;^18 (F1)and the ^(C1)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(C2)prepare sacrifices ^(F2)continually.'"

¹⁹ And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,²⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'If you can ^(C1)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time,²¹ then ^(C1)My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers.²² 'As the ^(C1)heavenly ^(F1)lights cannot be counted, and the ^(C2)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(C3)multiply the ^(F2)descendants of My servant David and the ^(C4)Levites who serve Me.'"

²³ And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,²⁴ "Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, 'The ^(C1)two families which the LORD chose, He has ^(C2)rejected them'? So they ^(C3)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^(F1)in their sight.²⁵ "This is what the LORD says: 'If My ^(C1)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(C2)not established the ^(F1)fixed patterns of heaven and earth,²⁶ then I would ^(C1)reject the ^(F1)descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^(F1)descendants ^(C2)rulers over the ^(F1)descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(C3)restore their fortunes and have ^(C4)mercy on them.'"

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(C2)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^(F1)control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying,² "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Behold, ^(C2)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(C3)he will burn it with fire.³ 'And as for you, ^(C1)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(C2)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^(F1)face to face, and you will go to Babylon.'"'⁴ "Yet hear the word of the LORD, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the LORD says concerning you: 'You will not die by the sword.⁵ 'You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^(C1)burn spices for you; and ^(C2)they will mourn for you, crying, "Oh, my lord!"' For I have spoken the word," declares the LORD.

⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(C1)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem⁷ when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^(C1)Lachish and ^(C2)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(C3)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

⁸ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had ^(C1)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(C2)proclaim ^(F1)release to them:⁹ that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(C1)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(C2)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage.¹⁰ And all the ^(C1)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

¹² Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,¹³ "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'I ^(C1)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(C2)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying,¹⁴ "^(C1)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^(F1)has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you." But your forefathers ^(C2)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me.¹⁵ 'Although recently you had turned and ^(C1)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^(F1)release to his neighbor, and you had ^(C2)made a covenant before Me ^(C3)in the house which is called by My name.¹⁶ 'Yet you ^(C1)turned and ^(C2)profaned My name, and each person ^(F1)took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.'

¹⁷ "Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^(F1)release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(C1)proclaiming a ^(F1)release to you,' declares the LORD, 'to the ^(C2)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(C3)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.¹⁸ 'I will give the people who have ^(C1)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(C2)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts—¹⁹ the ^(C1)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—²⁰ I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(C1)seek their lives. And their ^(C2)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth.²¹ '^(C1)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(C2)withdrawn from you.²² 'Behold, I am going to give a command,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(C1)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(C2)desolation ^(C3)without inhabitant.'"

The Rechabites' Obedience

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of ^(C1)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,² "Go to the house of the ^(C1)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the ^(C2)chambers, and give them wine to drink."³ So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites,⁴ and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(C1)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(C2)the doorkeeper.⁵ Then I set before the ^(F1)men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, "^(C1)Drink wine!"⁶ But they said, "We will not drink wine, for ^(C1)Jonadab the son of ^(C2)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall ^(C3)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever.⁷ 'You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^(F1)own one; but you shall live in ^(C1)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(C2)many days ^(F2)in the land where you ^(C3)live as strangers.'⁸ "And we have ^(C1)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(C1)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed.¹⁰ "But we have ^(C1)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(C2)Jonadab commanded us.¹¹ "However, when ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come, and let's ^(C2)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.' So we have lived in Jerusalem."

Judah Rebuked

¹² Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,¹³ "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "^(C1)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?" declares the LORD.¹⁴ "The ^(C1)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. But I have spoken to you ^(C2)again and again, yet you have ^(C3)not listened to Me.¹⁵ "Also I have sent to you all My ^(C1)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: '^(C2)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(C3)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(C4)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(C5)inclined your ear or listened to Me.¹⁶ 'Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(C1)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.'"'¹⁷ "Therefore this is what the LORD says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: 'Behold, ^(C1)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(C2)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'"

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Because you have ^(C1)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you,¹⁹ therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(C1)will not lack a man to ^(C2)stand before Me ^(F1)always."'"

Jeremiah's Scroll Read in the Temple

¹ In the ^(C1)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² "Take a ^(F1)(C1)scroll and write on it all the ^(C2)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(C3)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(C4)nations, from the ^(C5)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.³ "^(C1)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(C2)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(C3)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin."

⁴ Then Jeremiah called ^(C1)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^(F1)(C2)scroll ^(F2)at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, "I am ^(F1)(C1)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD.⁶ "So you go and ^(C1)read from the scroll, which you have ^(C2)written ^(F1)at my dictation, the words of the LORD ^(F2)to the people at the LORD'S house on a day of ^(C3)fasting. And you shall also read them ^(F2)to all the people of Judah who come from their cities.⁷ "^(C1)Perhaps their pleading will ^(F1)come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(C2)great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people."⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(C1)reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house.

⁹ Now in the ^(C1)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(C2)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(C3)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(C4)fast before the LORD.¹⁰ Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD in the ^(C1)chamber of ^(C2)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(C3)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(C4)entry of the New Gate of the LORD'S house.

¹¹ Now when ^(C1)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the LORD from the book,¹² he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(C1)Elishama the scribe, ^(C2)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(C3)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.¹³ And Micaiah ^(C1)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people.¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(C1)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(C2)took the scroll in his hand and came to them.¹⁵ And they said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it to us." So Baruch ^(C1)read it to them.¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(C1)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, "We will certainly ^(C2)report all these words to the king."¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us, please, ^(C1)how did you write all these words? Was it ^(F1)at Jeremiah's dictation?"¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, "He ^(C1)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book."¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go, ^(C1)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are."

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the ^(C1)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(C1)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king.²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(C1)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king.²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(C1)winter house in the ^(C2)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him.²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe's knife and ^(C1)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(C1)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(C2)tear their garments.²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(C1)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(C1)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(C2)LORD hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

²⁷ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(C1)burned the scroll and the words which ^(C2)Baruch had written ^(F1)at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying,²⁸ "^(C1)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(C2)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.²⁹ "And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, 'This is what the LORD says: "You have ^(C1)burned this scroll, saying, '^(C2)Why have you written on it ^(F1)that the ^(C3)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?'"³⁰ 'Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: "He shall have ^(C1)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(C2)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.³¹ "I will also ^(C1)punish him, his ^(F1)descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(C2)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen."'"

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he ^(C1)wrote on it at the ^(F1)dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many ^(F2)similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

¹ Now ^(C1)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ^(C2)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ^(C3)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.² But ^(C1)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Yet ^(C1)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(C2)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "^(C3)Please pray to the LORD our God in our behalf."⁴ Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ^(C1)put him in prison.⁵ Meanwhile, ^(C1)Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ^(C2)withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,⁷ "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, ^(C2)Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.⁸ "Then the Chaldeans will ^(C1)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."'⁹ "This is what the LORD says: 'Do not ^(C1)deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us," for they will not go.¹⁰ 'For ^(C1)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(C2)burn this city with fire.'"

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,¹² that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(C1)take ^(F1)possession of some property there among the people.¹³ While he was at the ^(C1)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(C2)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans!"¹⁴ But Jeremiah said, "^(C1)A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.¹⁵ Then the officials were ^(C1)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ^(C2)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison.¹⁶ For Jeremiah had come into the ^(F1)(C1)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

¹⁷ Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(C1)secretly asked him and said, "Is there a ^(C2)word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You will be ^(C3)handed over to the king of Babylon!"¹⁸ Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "^(C1)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison?¹⁹ "And ^(C1)where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The ^(C2)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land'?²⁰ "But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ^(C1)plea ^(F1)come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there."²¹ Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ^(C2)bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was ^(C3)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern

¹ Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the ^(C1)son of Shelemiah, and ^(C2)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,² "This is what the LORD says: 'Anyone who ^(C1)stays in this city will die by the ^(C2)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ^(C3)life as plunder, and stay alive.'³ "This is what the LORD says: 'This city will certainly be ^(C1)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'"⁴ Then the ^(C1)officials said to the king, "Please have this man put to death, since he is ^(F1)(C2)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and ^(F2)all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man ^(C3)is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm."⁵ And King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your ^(F1)hands; for the king ^(C1)can do nothing against you."⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the ^(C1)cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ^(C2)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.⁷ But ^(C1)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a ^(F1)(C2)eunuch, while he was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the ^(C3)Gate of Benjamin;⁸ and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying,⁹ "My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is ^(C1)no more bread in the city."¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here ^(F1)under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies."¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men under his ^(F1)authority and went into the king's palace to a place beneath the storeroom, and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah.¹² Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes"; and Jeremiah did so.¹³ So they pulled Jeremiah out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guardhouse.

Zedekiah Seeks an Answer from God

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah ^(C1)sent word and ^(F1)had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD; and the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ^(C2)ask you something; do not hide anything from me."¹⁵ And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "^(C1)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."¹⁶ But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in ^(C1)secret, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this ^(F1)(C2)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to ^(C3)these men who are seeking your ^(F1)life."

¹⁷ So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD ^(C1)God of armies, the ^(C2)God of Israel says: 'If you will indeed ^(C3)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then ^(F1)you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will ^(F2)survive.¹⁸ 'But if you do ^(C1)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city ^(C2)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and ^(C3)you yourself will not escape from their hands.'"¹⁹ Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am ^(C1)in fear of the Jews who have ^(C2)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will ^(C3)abuse me."²⁰ But Jeremiah said, "They will not turn you over. Please ^(F1)(C1)obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, so that it may go ^(C2)well for you and ^(F2)(C3)you may live.²¹ "But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the LORD has shown me:²² 'Behold, all of the ^(C1)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,

"^(F1)Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back."

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know about these words, and you will not die.²⁵ "But if the ^(C1)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,'²⁶ then you are to say to them, 'I was ^(C1)presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"²⁷ Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the ^(F1)conversation had not been overheard.²⁸ So Jeremiah ^(C1)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

Jerusalem Captured

^1 (F1)Now when Jerusalem was captured ^(F2)(C1)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it;² in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was ^(C1)breached.³ Then all the ^(C1)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the ^(C2)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the ^(F1)Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^(F2)Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.⁴ And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they ^(C1)fled and left the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate ^(C2)between the two walls; and he went out toward the ^(F1)Arabah.⁵ But the army of the ^(C1)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the ^(C2)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at ^(C3)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he ^(F1)passed sentence on him.⁶ Then the ^(C1)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah ^(C2)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the ^(C3)nobles of Judah.⁷ He then ^(C1)blinded Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in ^(C2)shackles of bronze to bring him to ^(C3)Babylon.⁸ The Chaldeans also ^(C1)burned the king's palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they ^(C2)tore down the walls of Jerusalem.⁹ And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^(C1)deserters who had deserted to him and ^(C2)the rest of the people who remained, ^(C3)Nebuzaradan the ^(C4)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon.¹⁰ But some of the ^(C1)poorest people, who had nothing, ^(C1)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields ^(F1)at that time.

Jeremiah Spared

¹¹ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding ^(C1)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,¹² "Take him and ^(F1)look after him, and ^(C1)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you."¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the ^(F1)Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^(F2)Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;¹⁴ they even sent word and ^(C1)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to ^(C2)Gedaliah, the son of ^(C3)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was ^(C1)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,¹⁶ "Go and speak to ^(C1)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city ^(C2)for disaster and not for ^(F1)prosperity; and they will ^(C3)take place before you on that day.¹⁷ "But I will ^(C1)save you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.¹⁸ "For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own ^(C1)life as plunder, because you have ^(C2)trusted in Me," declares the LORD.'"

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after ^(C1)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(C2)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(C3)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.² Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, "The ^(C1)LORD your God promised this disaster against this place;³ and the LORD has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(C1)sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you.⁴ "But now, behold, I am ^(C1)setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ^(F1)you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^(F2)look after you; but if ^(F3)you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^(F4)do not come. Look, the ^(C2)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go."⁵ As ^(F1)Jeremiah was still not going back, ^(F2)he said, "Go on back then to ^(C1)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(C2)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go." So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^(C3)ration and a ^(C4)gift, and let him go.⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(C1)Mizpah to ^(C2)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (C1)Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ^(F1)children, those of the ^(C2)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(C1)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(C2)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(C3)Netophathite, and ^(C4)Jezaniah the son of the ^(C5)Maacathite, both they and their men.⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(C1)swore to them and to their men, saying, "^(C2)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you.¹⁰ "Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(C1)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(C2)gather wine, ^(C3)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over."¹¹ Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(C1)Moab and among the sons of ^(C2)Ammon and in ^(C3)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^(F1)left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.¹² Then all the Jews ^(C1)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,¹⁴ and said to him, "Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(C1)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "^(C1)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(C2)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(C3)remnant of Judah would perish?"¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "^(C1)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

Gedaliah Is Murdered

^1 (C1)Now in the seventh month ^(C2)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^(F1)family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to ^(C3)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they ^(C4)were eating bread together there in Mizpah,² Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and ^(C1)struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ^(C2)put to death the one ^(C3)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.³ Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴ Now it happened on the ^(F1)next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,⁵ that eighty men ^(C1)came from ^(C2)Shechem, from ^(C3)Shiloh, and from ^(C4)Samaria with ^(C5)their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and ^(F1)their bodies ^(C6)gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the ^(C7)house of the LORD.⁶ Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, ^(C1)weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!"⁷ Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him ^(C1)slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.⁸ But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death, for we have ^(C1)supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

⁹ Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed ^(F1)because of Gedaliah, it was the ^(C1)one that King Asa had constructed on ^(C2)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.¹⁰ Then Ishmael took captive all the ^(C1)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the ^(C2)king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of ^(C3)Ammon.

Johanan Rescues the People

¹¹ But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ^(C1)commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.¹² So they took all the men and went to ^(C1)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the ^(C2)large ^(F1)pool that is in Gibeon.¹³ Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful.¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(C1)escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon.¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ^(C1)all the remnant of the people whom he had ^(F1)recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were ^(F2)soldiers, the women, the ^(F3)children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.¹⁷ And they went and stayed in ^(F1)(C1)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to ^(C2)proceed into Egypt¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans; for they were ^(C1)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom ^(C2)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

Warning against Going to Egypt

¹ Then all the commanders of the forces, ^(C1)Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(C2)from the small to the great approached² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our ^(C1)pleading ^(F1)come before you, and ^(C2)pray for us to the LORD your God for all this remnant—since we have been left only a ^(C3)few out of many, just as your own eyes now see us—³ that the LORD your God will tell us the ^(C1)way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do."⁴ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to ^(C1)pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole ^(F1)message which the ^(C2)LORD gives you as an answer. I will ^(C3)not withhold a word from you."⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the ^(C1)LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole ^(F1)message with which the LORD your God will send you to us.⁶ "Whether it is ^(F1)pleasant or ^(F2)unpleasant, we will ^(C1)listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go ^(C2)well for us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God."

⁷ Now at the ^(C1)end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.⁸ Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people from the small to the great,⁹ and said to them, "This is what the LORD ^(C1)says, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before Him:¹⁰ 'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will ^(C1)build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I ^(F1)will ^(C2)relent of the disaster that I have inflicted on you.¹¹ '^(C1)Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for ^(C2)I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.¹² 'I will also show you compassion, so that ^(C1)he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.¹³ 'But if you are going to say, "We will ^(C1)not stay in this land," so as not to listen to the voice of the LORD your God,¹⁴ saying, "No, but we will ^(C1)go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or ^(C2)hear the sound of a trumpet, or hunger for bread, and we will stay there";¹⁵ then ^(F1)in that case listen to the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "If you really set your ^(F2)minds to enter ^(C1)Egypt and go in to reside there,¹⁶ then the ^(C1)sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.¹⁷ "So all the people who set their ^(F1)minds to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the ^(C1)sword, by famine, or by plague; and they will ^(C2)have no refugees or survivors from the disaster that I am going to bring on them."'"

¹⁸ For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "As My ^(C1)anger and wrath have gushed out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will gush out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a ^(C2)curse, an object of horror, ^(F1)an imprecation, and a disgrace; and ^(C3)you will not see this place again."¹⁹ The LORD has spoken to you, you remnant of Judah, "Do not ^(C1)go to Egypt!" You ^(C2)know for certain that I have ^(C3)admonished you today.²⁰ For you have only ^(F1)(C1)deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it."²¹ So I have ^(C1)told you today, but you have ^(C2)not ^(F1)obeyed the LORD your God in whatever He has sent me to tell you.²² And now you shall know for certain that you will ^(C1)die by the sword, by famine, or by plague in the ^(C2)place where you desire to go to reside.

In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

¹ But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the LORD their God had sent to them, had ^(C1)finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—that is, all these words—² Azariah the ^(C1)son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are ^(C2)telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there';³ but ^(C1)Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!"⁴ So ^(C1)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, ^(C2)did not obey the voice of the LORD to ^(C3)stay in the land of Judah.⁵ Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the ^(C1)entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah—⁶ the men, the women, the ^(F1)children, the ^(C1)king's daughters, and ^(C2)every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam ^(F2)and grandson of Shaphan, together with ^(C3)Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah—⁷ and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as ^(C1)Tahpanhes.

⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in ^(C1)Tahpanhes, saying,⁹ "Take some large stones in your ^(F1)hands and hide them in the ^(F2)mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's ^(F3)palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of ^(F4)some of the Jews;¹⁰ and say to them, 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to send men and get ^(C1)My servant ^(C2)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his ^(F1)(C3)canopy over them.¹¹ "He will also come and ^(C1)strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and ^(C2)those for the sword to the sword.¹² "And ^(F1)I shall set fire to the temples of the ^(C1)gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will ^(F2)(C2)wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd ^(F3)wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely.¹³ "He will also smash to pieces the ^(F1)obelisks of ^(F2)Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire."'"

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in ^(C1)Migdol, ^(C2)Tahpanhes, ^(C3)Memphis, and the land of ^(C4)Pathros, saying,² "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ^(C1)ruins and no one lives in them,^3 (C1)because of their wickedness which they committed to ^(C2)provoke Me to anger by continuing to ^(C3)burn ^(F1)sacrifices and to ^(C4)serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.⁴ 'Yet I ^(C1)sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying, "Oh, do not do this ^(C2)abominable thing which I hate."⁵ 'But ^(C1)they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn ^(F1)sacrifices to other gods.⁶ 'Therefore My ^(C1)wrath and My anger gushed out and burned in the ^(C2)cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become ruins and a ^(C3)desolation as it is this day.⁷ 'Now then, this is what the LORD God of armies, the God of Israel says: "Why are you ^(C1)doing great harm to yourselves, to ^(C2)eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant,^8 (C1)provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, ^(C2)burning ^(F1)sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you are entering to reside, so that you may be eliminated and become a ^(C3)curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth?⁹ "Have you forgotten the ^(C1)wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?¹⁰ "Yet they ^(C1)have not become ^(F1)contrite even to this day, nor have they feared, nor ^(C2)walked in My Law or My statutes, which I placed before you and before your fathers."'

¹¹ "Therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to ^(C1)set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah.¹² 'And I will ^(C1)take away the remnant of Judah who have set their ^(F1)minds on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all ^(F2)(C2)meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or meet their end by famine. From the small to the great, they will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a ^(C3)curse, an object of horror, ^(F3)an imprecation, and a disgrace.¹³ 'And I will ^(C1)punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with plague.¹⁴ 'So there will be ^(C1)no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are ^(F1)(C2)longing to return to live; for none will ^(C3)return except a few refugees.'"

¹⁵ Then ^(C1)all the men who were aware that their wives were burning ^(F1)sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, ^(F2)including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,¹⁶ "As for the ^(F1)(C1)message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, ^(C2)we are not going to listen to you!¹⁷ "But we will certainly ^(C1)carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, ^(F1)by burning ^(F2)sacrifices to the ^(C2)queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as ^(C3)we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ^(C4)plenty of ^(F3)food and were well off and saw no ^(F4)misfortune.¹⁸ "But since we stopped burning ^(F1)sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ^(C1)lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine."¹⁹ "And," said the women, "when we were ^(C1)burning ^(F1)sacrifices to the queen of heaven and ^(F2)pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ^(C2)without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes ^(F3)in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?"

Disaster for the Jews

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying,²¹ "As for the ^(F1)(C1)smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the ^(C2)streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the LORD not ^(C3)remember them, and did all of this not come into His ^(F2)mind?²² "So the LORD was ^(C1)no longer able to endure it, ^(C2)because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; so your land has become a ^(C3)place of ruins, an object of horror, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.²³ "Since you have burned ^(F1)sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and ^(C1)not obeyed the voice of the LORD nor ^(C2)walked in His Law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this ^(C3)disaster has happened to you, as it has this day."

²⁴ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "^(C1)Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are ^(C2)in the land of Egypt!²⁵ "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel ^(F1)says: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, "We will ^(C1)certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn ^(F2)sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." ^(C2)By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!'²⁶ "^(F1)In return, hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have ^(C1)sworn by My great name,' says the LORD, 'that My name shall ^(C2)never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "^(C3)As the Lord ^(F2)GOD lives."²⁷ 'Behold, I am watching over them ^(C1)for harm and not for good, and ^(C2)all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will ^(F1)meet their end by the sword or by famine until they ^(F2)are completely gone.²⁸ '^(C1)Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah ^(F1)(C2)few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know ^(C3)whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.²⁹ 'And this will be the ^(C1)sign to you,' declares the LORD, 'that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that ^(C2)My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.'³⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'Behold, I am going to hand ^(C1)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed ^(C2)Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.'"

Message to Baruch

¹ This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to ^(C1)Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had ^(C2)written these words in a book ^(F1)at Jeremiah's dictation, in the ^(C3)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying:² "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch:³ 'You said, "Oh, woe to me! For the LORD has added grief to my pain; I am ^(C1)weary with my groaning and have found no rest."'⁴ "This is what you are to say to him: 'This is what the LORD says: "Behold, ^(C1)what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land."⁵ 'But as for you, are you ^(C1)seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to ^(C2)bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, 'but I will ^(C3)give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go.'"

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

¹ That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet ^(C1)concerning the nations.

² To ^(C1)Egypt, concerning the army of ^(C2)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at ^(C3)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^(C4)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³ "^(C1)Set up the ^(F1)buckler and shield,
And advance to the battle!

⁴ "Harness the horses,
And ^(F1)mount the steeds,
Take your stand with helmets on!
^(C1)Polish the spears,
Put on the ^(C2)coats of armor!

⁵ "Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are ^(C1)retreating,
And their ^(C2)warriors are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back.
^(F1)(C3)Terror is on every side!"
Declares the LORD.

⁶ Let not the ^(C1)swift man flee,
Nor the warrior escape.
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have ^(C2)stumbled and fallen.

⁷ Who is this that ^(C1)rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge?

⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile,
And like the rivers whose waters surge;
And He has said, "I will ^(C1)rise and cover that land;
I will ^(C2)destroy the city and its inhabitants."

⁹ Go up, you horses, and ^(F1)(C1)drive wildly, you chariots,
So that the warriors may ^(F2)march forward:
^(F3)Cush and ^(F4)(C2)Put, who handle the shield,
And the ^(F5)(C3)Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.

¹⁰ For ^(C1)that day belongs to the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies,
A day of ^(C2)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the ^(C3)sword will devour and be satisfied,
And ^(F2)drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a ^(C4)slaughter for the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies,
In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

¹¹ Go ^(C1)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
^(C2)Virgin daughter of Egypt!
You have used many ^(F1)remedies in vain;
There is ^(C3)no healing for you.

¹² The nations have heard of your ^(C1)shame,
And the earth is full of your ^(C2)cry of distress;
For one ^(C3)warrior has stumbled over ^(F1)another,
And both of them have fallen down together.

¹³ This is the ^(F1)message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^(C1)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^(C2)strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴ "Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^(C1)Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and ^(C2)Tahpanhes;
Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the ^(C3)sword has devoured those around you.'

¹⁵ "Why have your ^(C1)powerful ones been cut down?
They do not stand because the LORD has ^(C2)thrust them away.

¹⁶ "They have repeatedly ^(C1)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen, one against another.
Then they said, 'Get up, and ^(C2)let's go back
To our own people and our native land,
Away from the ^(F1)(C3)sword of the oppressor!'

¹⁷ "^(F1)They shouted there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but ^(C1)a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!'

¹⁸ "As I live," declares the ^(C1)King,
Whose name is the LORD of armies,
"One certainly shall come who is like ^(C2)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like ^(C3)Carmel by the sea.

¹⁹ "Make your baggage ready for ^(C1)exile,
^(C2)Daughter living in Egypt,
For ^(C3)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will be destroyed and ^(F1)deprived of inhabitants.

²⁰ "Egypt is a pretty ^(C1)heifer,
But a ^(F1)horsefly is coming ^(C2)from the north—it is coming!

²¹ "Also her ^(C1)mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened ^(C2)calves,
For they too have turned away and have fled together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their disaster has come upon them,
The time of their ^(C3)punishment.

²² "Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on ^(F1)like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

²³ "They have cut down her ^(C1)forest," declares the LORD;
"Certainly it will no longer be found,
Even though ^(F1)they are more numerous than ^(C2)locusts
And are without number.

²⁴ "The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Turned over to the ^(F1)power of the ^(C1)people of the north."

²⁵ The LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^(C1)Thebes, and ^(C2)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^(C3)gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who ^(C4)trust in him.²⁶ "I shall hand them over to those who are ^(C1)seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his ^(F1)officers. ^(C2)Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.

²⁷ "But as for you, Jacob My servant, ^(C1)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to ^(C2)save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.

²⁸ "Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD,
"For ^(C1)I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will ^(C2)not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will ^(C3)correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished."