Study Desk

My heart is crushed, and I am trembling. Because of the Lord , because of his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk, someone who has had too much wine.

I said, "None of these prophets has ever known the Lord 's secret thoughts. None of them has ever heard or understood his message, or ever listened or paid attention to what he said.

His anger is a storm, a furious wind that will rage over the heads of the wicked,

and it will not end until he has done everything he intends to do. In days to come his people will understand this clearly."

You would not listen or pay attention, even though the Lord has continued to send you his servants the prophets.

But the Lord himself says that you refused to listen to him. Instead, you made him angry with your idols and have brought his punishment on yourselves.

Here is the list of all the others who had to drink from the cup: the king of Egypt, his officials and leaders; all the Egyptians and all the foreigners in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; all the people of Edom, Moab, and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; all the kings of the Mediterranean lands; the cities of Dedan, Tema, and Buz; all the people who cut their hair short; all the kings of Arabia; all the kings of the desert tribes; all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another. Every nation on the face of the earth had to drink from it. Last of all, the king of Babylonia will drink from it.

"You, Jeremiah, must proclaim everything I have said. You must tell these people, ‘The Lord will roar from heaven and thunder from the heights of heaven. He will roar against his people; he will shout like a man treading grapes. Everyone on earth will hear him,

You moan and cry out in distress because the Lord in his anger has destroyed your nation and left your peaceful country in ruins.

The Lord has abandoned his people like a lion that leaves its cave. The horrors of war and the Lord 's fierce anger have turned the country into a desert.

You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and must obey the Lord your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.

King Hezekiah and the people of Judah did not put Micah to death. Instead, Hezekiah honored the Lord and tried to win his favor. And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he said he would bring on them. Now we are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves."

When King Jehoiakim and his soldiers and officials heard what Uriah had said, the king tried to have him killed. But Uriah heard about it; so he fled in terror and escaped to Egypt.

They brought him back to King Jehoiakim, who had him killed and his body thrown into the public burial ground.)

All nations will serve him, and they will serve his son and his grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then his nation will serve powerful nations and great kings.

"But if any nation or kingdom will not submit to his rule, then I will punish that nation by war, starvation, and disease until I have let Nebuchadnezzar destroy it completely.

I said the same thing to King Zedekiah of Judah, "Submit to the king of Babylonia. Serve him and his people, and you will live.

The Lord himself has said that he did not send them and that they are lying to you in his name. And so he will drive you out, and you will be killed, you and the prophets who are telling you these lies."

I wrote it after King Jehoiachin, his mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and of Jerusalem, the engravers, and the skilled workers had been taken into exile.

"The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has spoken about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are telling you lies in his name. He has said that he will hand them over to the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who will put them to death before your eyes.