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Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the Babylonian army, but he will surely be handed over to the king of Babylon. And he will speak to the king of Babylon face to face and see him with his own eyes.

You plan and do great things. You see everything that people do, and you reward people for the way they live and for what they do.

"Look! The enemy has surrounded the city and has built roads to the top of the walls to capture it. Because of war, hunger, and terrible diseases, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. You said this would happen, and now you see it is happening.

You will not escape from the king of Babylon; you will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will talk to you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

"Jeremiah, go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite this message: ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Very soon I will make my words about Jerusalem come true through disaster, not through good times. You will see everything come true with your own eyes.

They said to him, "Jeremiah, please listen to what we ask. Pray to the Lord your God for all the people left alive from the family of Judah. At one time there were many of us, but you can see that there are few of us now.

Or you might say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt. There we will not see war, or hear the trumpets of war, or be hungry.'

"This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘I showed my anger against the people of Jerusalem. In the same way I will show my anger against you when you go to Egypt. Other nations will speak evil of you. People will be shocked by what will happen to you. You will become a curse word, and people will insult you. And you will never see Judah again.'

All this happened because you burned incense to other gods. You sinned against the Lord . You did not obey him or follow his teachings or the laws he gave you. You did not keep your part of the agreement with him. So this disaster has happened to you. It is there for you to see."

I will give you a sign that I will punish you here in Egypt,' says the Lord . ‘When you see it happen, you will know that my promises to hurt you will really happen.'

What do I see? That army is terrified, and the soldiers are running away. Their warriors are defeated. They run away quickly without looking back. There is terror on every side!" says the Lord .

This is what the Lord says: "See, the enemy is gathering in the north like rising waters. They will become like an overflowing stream and will cover the whole country like a flood, even the towns and the people living in them. Everyone living in that country will cry for help; the people will cry painfully.

You people living in the town of Aroer, stand next to the road and watch. See the man running away and the woman escaping. Ask them, ‘What happened?'

"Edom will be destroyed. People who pass by will be shocked to see the destroyed cities, and they will be amazed at all her injuries.

Because of the Lord 's anger, no one will live there. She will be completely empty. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be shocked. They will shake their heads when they see all her injuries.

"How Babylon has been defeated! The pride of the whole earth has been taken captive. People from other nations are shocked at what happened to Babylon, and the things they see make them afraid.

Jerusalem is suffering and homeless. She remembers all the good things from the past. But her people were defeated by the enemy, and there was no one to help her. When her enemies saw her, they laughed to see her ruined.

She made herself dirty by her sins and did not think about what would happen to her. Her defeat was surprising, and no one could comfort her. She says, " Lord , see how I suffer, because the enemy has won."

All of Jerusalem's people groan, looking for bread. They are trading their precious things for food so they can stay alive. The city says, "Look, Lord , and see. I am hated."

Jerusalem says, "You who pass by on the road don't seem to care. Come, look at me and see: Is there any pain like mine? Is there any pain like that he has caused me? The Lord has punished me on the day of his great anger.