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Thus says the Lord , "Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word

and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord , O king of Judah, who ^(a)sits on David's throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.

Thus says the Lord , "^(b)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his ^(c)oppressor. Also ^(d)do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not ^(e)shed innocent blood in this place.

For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then ^(f)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting ^[a]in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

^(g)But if you will not obey these words, I ^(h)swear by Myself," declares the Lord , "that this house will become a desolation."'"

For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: "You are like ⁽ⁱ⁾Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you like a ^(j)wilderness, Like cities which are not inhabited.

"For I will set apart ^(k)destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will ^(l)cut down your choicest cedars And ^(m)throw them on the fire.

"Many nations will pass by this city; and they will ⁽ⁿ⁾say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?'

Then they will ^[b]answer, ‘Because they ^(o)forsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.'"

^(p)Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep continually for the one who goes away; For ^(q)he will never return Or see his native land.

For thus says the Lord in regard to ^[c](r)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, "He will never return there;

but in the place where they led him captive, there he will ^(s)die and not see this land again.

"Woe to him who builds his house ^(t)without righteousness And his ^[d]upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And ^(u)does not give him his wages,

Who says, ‘I will ^(v)build myself a roomy house With spacious ^[e]upper rooms, And cut out its windows, ^[f]Paneling it with ^(w)cedar and painting it ^[g]bright red.'

"Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And ^(x)do justice and righteousness? Then it was ^(y)well with him.

"He pled the cause of the ^(z)afflicted and needy; Then it was well. ^(aa)Is not that what it means to know Me?" Declares the Lord .

"But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own ^(ab)dishonest gain, And on ^(ac)shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion."

Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to ^(ad)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, "They will not ^(ae)lament for him: ‘^(af)Alas, my brother!' or, ‘Alas, sister!' They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!' or, ‘Alas for his splendor!'

"He will be ^(ag)buried with a donkey's burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

"Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from ^(ah)Abarim, For all your ^(ai)lovers have been crushed.

"I spoke to you in your prosperity; But ^(aj)you said, ‘I will not listen!' ^(ak)This has been your practice ^(al)from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.

"The wind will sweep away all your ^(am)shepherds, And your ^(an)lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ^(ao)ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.

"You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, ^(ap)Pain like a woman in childbirth!

"As I live," declares the Lord , "even though ^[h](aq)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a ^(ar)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull ^[i]you ^[j]off;

and I will ^(as)give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

I will ^(at)hurl you and your ^(au)mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die.

But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.

"Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an ^(av)undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been ^(aw)hurled out And cast into a ^(ax)land that they had not known?

"^(ay)O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord !

"Thus says the Lord , ‘Write this man down ^(az)childless, A man who will ^(ba)not prosper in his days; For no man of his ^(bb)descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'"

"^(a)Woe to the shepherds who are ^(b)destroying and scattering the ^(c)sheep of My pasture!" declares the Lord .

Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are ^[a]tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to ^(d)attend to you for the ^(e)evil of your deeds," declares the Lord .

"Then I Myself will ^(f)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.

I will also raise up ^(g)shepherds over them and they will ^[b]tend them; and they will ^(h)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, ⁽ⁱ⁾nor will any be missing," declares the Lord .

"Behold, the ^(j)days are coming," declares the Lord , "When I will raise up for David a righteous ^[c](k)Branch; And He will ^(l)reign as king and ^[d]act wisely And ^(m)do justice and righteousness in the land.

"In His days Judah will be saved, And ⁽ⁿ⁾Israel will dwell securely; And this is His ^(o)name by which He will be called, ‘The ^(p) Lord our righteousness.'

"^(q)Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord , "when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,'

^(r)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(s)brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil."

As for the prophets: My ^(t)heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of the Lord And because of His holy words.

For the land is full of ^(u)adulterers; For the land ^(v)mourns because of the curse. The ^(w)pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil And their might is not right.

"For ^(x)both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness," declares the Lord .

"Therefore their way will be like ^(y)slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the ^(z)gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring ^(aa)calamity upon them, The year of their punishment," declares the Lord .

"Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an ^(ab)offensive thing: They ^(ac)prophesied by Baal and ^(ad)led My people Israel astray.

"Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a ^(ae)horrible thing: The committing of ^(af)adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of ^(ag)evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like ^(ah)Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

"Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to ^(ai)feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.'"

Thus says the Lord of hosts, "^(aj)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are ^(ak)leading you into futility; They speak a ^(al)vision of their own ^[e]imagination, Not ^(am)from the mouth of the Lord .

"They keep saying to those who ^(an)despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, "^(ao)You will have peace"'; And as for everyone who walks in the ^(ap)stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘^(aq)Calamity will not come upon you.'

"But ^(ar)who has stood in the council of the Lord , That he should see and hear His word? Who has given ^(as)heed to ^[f]His word and listened?

"Behold, the ^(at)storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.

"The ^(au)anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has ^(av)performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; ^(aw)In the last days you will clearly understand it.

"^(ax)I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied.

"But if they had ^(ay)stood in My council, Then they would have ^(az)announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds.

"Am I a God who is ^(ba)near," declares the Lord , "And not a God far off?

"Can a man ^(bb)hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the Lord . "^(bc)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the Lord .

"I have ^(bd)heard what the prophets have said who ^(be)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a ^(bf)dream, I had a dream!'

How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the ^(bg)deception of their own heart,

who intend to ^(bh)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers ^(bi)forgot My name because of Baal?

The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has ^(bj)My word speak My word in truth. ^(bk)What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the Lord .

"Is not My word like ^(bl)fire?" declares the Lord , "and like a ^(bm)hammer which shatters a rock?

Therefore behold, ^(bn)I am against the prophets," declares the Lord , "who steal My words from each other.

Behold, I am against the prophets," declares the Lord , "who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.'

Behold, I am against those who have prophesied ^(bo)false dreams," declares the Lord , "and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and ^(bp)reckless boasting; yet ^(bq)I did not send them or command them, nor do they ^(br)furnish this people the slightest benefit," declares the Lord .

"Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the ^[g](bs)oracle of the Lord ?' then you shall say to them, ‘What ^[h]oracle?' The Lord declares, ‘I will ^(bt)abandon you.'

Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The ^(bu)oracle of the Lord ,' I will bring punishment upon that man and his household.

Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘^(bv)What has the Lord answered?' or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?'

For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord , because every man's own word will become the oracle, and you have ^(bw)perverted the words of the ^(bx)living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.

Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?' and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?'

For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord !' surely thus says the Lord , ‘Because you said this word, "The oracle of the Lord !" I have also sent to you, saying, "You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord !'"'

Therefore behold, ^(by)I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers.

I will put an everlasting ^(bz)reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten."

After ^(a)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two ^(b)baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord !

One basket had very good figs, like ^(c)first-ripe figs, and the other basket had ^(d)very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness.

Then the Lord said to me, "^(e)What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness."

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

"Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ^(f)as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans.

For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^(g)bring them again to this land; and I will ^(h)build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ⁽ⁱ⁾plant them and not pluck them up.

I will give them a ^(j)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord ; and they will be ^(k)My people, and I will be their God, for they will ^(l)return to Me with their whole heart.

‘But like the ^(m)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the Lord —so I will ^[a]abandon ⁽ⁿ⁾Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(o)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of ^(p)Egypt.

I will ^(q)make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(r)reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(s)curse in all places where I will scatter them.

I will send the ^(t)sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.'"

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(a)fourth year of ^(b)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(c)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(d)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

"From the ^(e)thirteenth year of ^(f)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^[a]these ^(g)twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^[b](h)again and again, but you have not listened.

And the Lord has sent to you all His ⁽ⁱ⁾servants the prophets ^[c]again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear,

saying, ‘^(j)Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers ^(k)forever and ever;

and ^(l)do not go after other gods to ^[d]serve them and to ^[e]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.'

Yet you have not listened to Me," declares the Lord , "in order that you might ^(m)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

"Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words,

behold, I will ⁽ⁿ⁾send and take all the families of the north,' declares the Lord , ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(o)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will ^[f]utterly destroy them and ^(p)make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

Moreover, I will ^[g](q)take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the ^(r)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.

^(s)This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon ^(t)seventy years.

‘Then it will be ^(u)when seventy years are completed I will ^(v)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the Lord , ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(w)I will make it an everlasting desolation.

I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in ^(x)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(y)all the nations.

(^[h]For ^(z)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(aa)recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)'"

For thus the Lord , the God of Israel, says to me, "Take this ^(ab)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.

They will ^(ac)drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them."

Then I took the cup from the Lord's hand and ^(ad)made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it:

^(ae)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day;

^(af)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people;

and all the ^[i](ag)foreign people, all the kings of the ^(ah)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(ai)Philistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of ^(aj)Ashdod);

^(ak)Edom, ^(al)Moab and the sons of ^(am)Ammon;

and all the kings of ^(an)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon and the kings of ^(ao)the coastlands which are beyond the sea;

and ^(ap)Dedan, Tema, ^(aq)Buz and all who ^(ar)cut the corners of their hair;

and all the kings of ^(as)Arabia and all the kings of the ^[j](at)foreign people who dwell in the desert;

and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(au)Elam and all the kings of ^(av)Media;

and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(aw)all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of ^[k](ax)Sheshach shall drink after them.

"You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "^(ay)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall and rise no more because of the ^(az)sword which I will send among you."'

And it will be, if they ^(ba)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: "^(bb)You shall surely drink!

For behold, I am ^(bc)beginning to work calamity in this city which is ^(bd)called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for ^(be)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth," declares the Lord of hosts.'

"Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, ‘The ^(bf) Lord will ^(bg)roar from on high And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His ^[l]fold. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

‘A clamor has come to the end of the earth, Because the Lord has ^(bh)a controversy with the nations. He is entering into ^(bi)judgment with all flesh; As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,' declares the Lord ."

Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, evil is going forth From ^(bj)nation to nation, And a great ^(bk)storm is being stirred up From the remotest parts of the earth.

"Those ^(bl)slain by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ^[m]other. They will ^(bm)not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like ^(bn)dung on the face of the ground.

"Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And ^(bo)wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock; For the days of your ^(bp)slaughter and your dispersions ^[n]have come, And you will fall like a choice vessel.

"^(bq)Flight will perish from the shepherds, And escape from the masters of the flock.

"Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds, And the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the Lord is destroying their pasture,

"And the peaceful ^[o](br)folds are made silent Because of the ^(bs)fierce anger of the Lord .

"He has left His hiding place ^(bt)like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the ^[p]oppressing sword And because of His fierce anger."

In the beginning of the reign of ^(a)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord , saying,

"Thus says the Lord , ‘^(b)Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(c)come to worship in the Lord's house ^(d)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(e)Do not omit a word!

^(f)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that ^(g)I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.'

And you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord , "^(h)If you will not listen to Me, to ⁽ⁱ⁾walk in My law which I have set before you,

to listen to the words of ^(j)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you ^[a]again and again, but you have not listened;

then I will make this house like ^(k)Shiloh, and this city I will make a ^(l)curse to all the nations of the earth."'"

The ^(m)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord .

When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "⁽ⁿ⁾You must die!

Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(o)desolate, without inhabitant'?" And ^(p)all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord .

When the ^(q)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and sat in the ^(r)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's house.

Then the priests and the prophets ^(s)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, "A ^(t)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(u)against this city as you have heard in your hearing."

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, "^(v)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.

Now therefore ^(w)amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will ^[b]change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.

But as for me, behold, ^(x)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight.

Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(y)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."

Then the officials and all the people ^(z)said to the priests and to the prophets, "No ^(aa)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God."

Then ^(ab)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,

"^[c](ac)Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus the Lord of hosts has said, "^(ad)Zion will be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem will become ruins, And the ^(ae)mountain of the house as the ^[d]high places of a forest."'

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not ^(af)fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord , and ^(ag)the Lord ^[e]changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(ah)committing a great evil against ourselves."

Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord , Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(ai)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.

When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(aj)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and ^(ak)fled and went to Egypt.

Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(al)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt.

And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(am)slew him with a sword and cast his dead body into the ^[f]burial place of the ^[g]common people.

But the hand of ^(an)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(ao)not given into the hands of the people to put him to death.