Study Desk

The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me what would happen to Shemaiah, who was one of our people in Babylonia. After my letter reached Babylonia, Shemaiah wrote letters to the people of Jerusalem, including the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and the other priests. The letter to Zephaniah said:

The Lord God of Israel said, "Jeremiah, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you.

You will be my people, and I will be your God. I, the Lord , have spoken.

The Lord said: Israel, I promise that someday all your tribes will again be my people, and I will be your God.

Someday those who guard the hill country of Ephraim will shout, "Let's go to Zion and worship the Lord our God."

The people of Israel moan and say to me, "We were like wild bulls, but you, Lord , broke us, and we learned to obey. You are our God— please let us come home.

The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said: I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their hometowns. And when I do, they will once again say, "We pray that the Lord will bless his home, the sacred hill in Jerusalem where his temple stands."

It will be different from the agreement I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. Although I was their God, they broke that agreement.

Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord , will make with the people of Israel: "I will write my laws on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I promise you that people will once again buy and sell houses, farms, and vineyards in this country.

Lord God, you stretched out your mighty arm and made the sky and the earth. You can do anything.

Jeremiah, I am the Lord God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!

And they led Judah into sin by building places to worship Baal in Hinnom Valley, where they also sacrificed their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I have never even thought of telling them to commit such disgusting sins.

They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I am the Lord God of Israel, and I made an agreement with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, where they had been slaves.

Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson

your God. I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I warned you about the terrible things that would happen to you if you did not listen to me. You have ignored me, so now disaster will strike you. I, the Lord , have spoken.

Then the Lord told me to say to the Rechabite clan: I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You have obeyed your ancestor Jonadab,

Later, the Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem, but they left after learning that the Egyptian army was headed in this direction. One day, Zedekiah sent Jehucal and the priest Zephaniah to talk with me. At that time, I was free to go wherever I wanted, because I had not yet been put in prison. Jehucal and Zephaniah said, "Jeremiah, please pray to the Lord our God for us."

Then the Lord told me to send them back to Zedekiah with this message: Zedekiah, you wanted Jeremiah to ask me, the Lord )God of Israel, what is going to happen. So I will tell you. The king of Egypt and his army came to your rescue, but soon they will go back to Egypt.