Study Desk

After that happens,'" says the Lord , "‘I will give King Zedekiah of Judah and all his officials to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And I will give to Nebuchadnezzar the people who remain alive in Jerusalem—those who did not die from the terrible disease and the people who did not die in war or from hunger. I will give them all to King Nebuchadnezzar. The people of Judah will be captured by their enemies who want to kill them. Nebuchadnezzar's army will use their swords to kill the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy. He will not feel sorry for them.'

Don't cry for the king who has died. Don't cry for him. But cry very hard for the king who must leave this place. Cry for him because he will never return or see his homeland again.

This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz son of Josiah, who became king of Judah after his father Josiah died: "Jehoahaz has gone away from Jerusalem. He will never return.

"It will be very bad for King Jehoiakim. He is doing wrong so that he can build his palace. He is cheating people so that he can build rooms upstairs. He is not paying his own people. He is making them work for nothing.

The people of Jerusalem will bury Jehoiakim like a donkey. They will drag his body away and throw it outside the gates of Jerusalem.

Jehoiachin is like a broken pot that someone threw away. He is like a pot that no one wants. Why will Jehoiachin and his children be thrown out and sent away into a foreign land?

The Lord says, "Write this down about Jehoiachin: ‘He does not have children anymore! Jehoiachin will not be successful because none of his children will sit on the throne of David. None of his children will rule in Judah.'"

When he rules, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This will be his name: The Lord Makes Things Right for Us.

A message to the prophets: I am very sad—my heart is broken. All my bones are shaking. Because of the Lord and his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk.

But none of these prophets has stood in the heavenly council. None of them has seen or heard the message from the Lord . None of them has paid close attention to his message.

Now the punishment from the Lord will come like a storm. His anger will be like a tornado. It will come crashing down on the heads of those wicked people.

But you will never again use the expression, ‘The announcement of the Lord .' That is because his message should not be a heavy load for anyone. But you changed the words of our God. He is the living God, the Lord All-Powerful!

The Lord showed me these things: I saw two baskets of figs arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord . (I saw this vision after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiachin as a prisoner. Jehoiachin, the son of King Jehoiakim, and all his important officials were taken away from Jerusalem. They were taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took away all the carpenters and metalworkers of Judah.)

But the Lord also says, "I will treat King Zedekiah of Judah like those figs that are too rotten to eat. Zedekiah, his high officials, all those who are left in Jerusalem, and those people of Judah who are living in Egypt will be like those rotten figs.

This is the message that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. This message came in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. The fourth year of his time as king was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.

The Lord has sent his servants, the prophets, to you over and over again. But you have not listened to them. You have not paid any attention to them.

I also made Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, drink from that cup. I made his officials, his important leaders, and all his people drink from it.

"Jeremiah, you will give them this message: ‘The Lord shouts from above. He shouts from his holy Temple. He shouts against his people. His shouts are loud like the songs of people walking on grapes to make wine.

The noise spreads to all the people on earth. What is all the noise about? The Lord tells why he is punishing all the nations. He has given his arguments against them. He has judged them, and now he is killing the wicked with his sword.'" This message is from the Lord .

He is like an angry lion that has left his cave. And because of his terrible anger and by the attacks of the enemy army, their land will become an empty desert.