Study Desk

Then, says the Lord , I'll hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in Jerusalem who do not die from the terrible diseases or battle or hunger, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will let those win who want to kill the people of Judah, so the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be killed in war. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy or pity or feel sorry for them!'

Anyone who stays in Jerusalem will die in war or from hunger or from a terrible disease. But anyone who goes out of Jerusalem and surrenders to the Babylonians who are attacking you will live. Anyone who leaves the city will save his life as if it were a prize won in war.

Family of David, this is what the Lord says: You must judge people fairly every morning. Save the person who has been robbed from the power of his attacker. If you don't, I will become very angry. My anger will be like a fire that no one can put out, because you have done evil things.

This is what the Lord says: Do what is fair and right. Save the one who has been robbed from the power of his attacker. Don't mistreat or hurt the foreigners, orphans, or widows. Don't kill innocent people here.

I will send men to destroy the palace, each with his weapons. They will cut up your strong, beautiful cedar beams and throw them into the fire.

Don't cry for the dead king or be sad about him. But cry painfully for the king who is being taken away, 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 died and who has left this place: "He will never return.

"How terrible it will be for one who builds his palace by doing evil, who cheats people so he can build its upper rooms. He makes his own people work for nothing and does not pay them.

They will bury him like a donkey, dragging his body away and throwing it outside the gates of Jerusalem.

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

This is what the Lord says: "Write this down in the record about Jehoiachin: He is a man without children, a man who will not be successful in his lifetime. And none of his descendants will be successful; none will sit on the throne of David or rule in Judah."

In his time Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This will be his name: The Lord Does What Is Right.

A message to the prophets: My heart is broken. All my bones shake. I'm like someone who is drunk, like someone who has been overcome with wine. This is because of the Lord and his holy words.

But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels to see or hear the message of the Lord . None of them has paid close attention to his message.

Look, the punishment from the Lord will come like a storm. His anger will be like a hurricane. It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people.

Is straw the same thing as wheat?" says the Lord . "If a prophet wants to tell about his dreams, let him! But let the person who hears my message speak it truthfully!

A prophet or a priest or one of the people might say, ‘This is a message from the Lord .' That person has lied, so I will punish him and his whole family.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon captured Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim and king of Judah, his officers, and all the craftsmen and metalworkers of Judah. He took them away from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. It was then that the Lord showed me two baskets of figs arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord .

Then the Lord spoke his word to me:

"‘But the bad figs are too rotten to eat.' So this is what the Lord says: ‘Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and all the people from Jerusalem who are left alive, even those who live in Egypt, will be like those rotten figs.