Study Desk

"At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the ^(C1)God of all the ^(C2)families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

This is what the LORD says: "The people who survived the sword ^(C1)Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when it went to ^(C2)find its rest."

The LORD appeared to ^(F1)him ^(F2)long ago, saying, "I have ^(C1)loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(C2)kindness.

-"^(C1)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt, Virgin of Israel! You will ^(F1)take up your ^(C2)tambourines again, And go out to the dances of the ^(C3)revelers.

-"Again you will ^(C1)plant vineyards On the ^(F1)hills of Samaria; The planters will plant And will ^(F2)enjoy the fruit.

-"For there will be a day when watchmen On the hills of Ephraim call out, 'Arise, and ^(C1)let's go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.'"

For this is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob, And be joyful with the ^(F1)(C2)chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, 'LORD, ^(C3)save Your people, The ^(C4)remnant of Israel!'

-"Behold, I am ^(C1)bringing them from the north country, And I will ^(C2)gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them those who are ^(C3)blind and those who ^(C4)limp, The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; They will return here as a great assembly.

-"^(C1)They will come with weeping, And by pleading I will bring them; I will lead them by ^(C2)streams of waters, On a straight path on which they will ^(C3)not stumble; For I am a ^(C4)father to Israel, And Ephraim is ^(C5)My firstborn."

Hear the word of the LORD, you nations, And declare it in the ^(C1)coastlands far away, And say, "He who scattered Israel will ^(C2)gather him, And He will keep him as a ^(C3)shepherd keeps his flock."

For the LORD has ^(C1)ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(C2)stronger than he.

"They will ^(C1)come and shout for joy on the ^(C2)height of Zion, And they will be ^(C3)radiant over the ^(F1)bounty of the LORD— Over the ^(C4)grain, the new wine, the oil, And over the young of the ^(C5)flock and the herd. And their life will be like a ^(C6)watered garden, And they will ^(C7)never languish again.

-"Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(C1)dance, And the young men and the old together; For I will ^(C2)turn their mourning into joy And comfort them, and give them ^(C3)joy for their sorrow.

-"I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^(F1)abundance, And My people will be ^(C1)satisfied with My goodness," declares the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)A voice is heard in ^(C2)Ramah, Lamenting and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She ^(C3)refuses to be comforted for her children, Because ^(C4)they are no more."

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your ^(C2)work will be rewarded," declares the LORD, "And they will ^(C3)return from the land of the enemy.

-"There is ^(C1)hope for your future," declares the LORD, "And your children will return to their own territory.

-"I have certainly heard Ephraim ^(C1)grieving, 'You have ^(C2)disciplined me, and I was corrected, Like an untrained ^(C3)calf; ^(C4)Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God.

-'For after I turned back, I ^(C1)repented; And after I was instructed, I ^(F1)(C2)slapped my thigh; I was ^(C3)ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the shame of my youth.'

-"Is ^(C1)Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My ^(F1)(C2)heart yearns for him; I will certainly ^(C3)have mercy on him," declares the LORD.

"Set up roadmarks for yourself, Place guideposts for yourself; ^(C1)Direct your ^(F1)mind to the highway, The way by which you went. ^(C2)Return, O virgin of Israel, Return to these your cities.

-"How long will you waver, You ^(C1)rebellious daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: A woman will shelter a man."

This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I ^(C1)restore their fortunes, 'The LORD bless you, O ^(C2)place of righteousness, O ^(C3)holy hill!'

"Judah and all its cities will ^(C1)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks.

"^(C1)For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and ^(F1)refresh everyone who languishes."

At this I ^(C1)awoke and looked, and my ^(C2)sleep had been pleasant to me.

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will ^(C1)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals.

"And just as I have ^(C1)watched over them to ^(C2)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(C3)build and to plant them," declares the LORD.

"In those days they will no longer say, '^(C1)The fathers have eaten sour grapes, ^(F1)But it is the children's teeth that have become blunt.'

"But ^(C1)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

"^(C1)Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a ^(C2)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

not like the ^(C1)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(C2)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(C3)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

"For ^(C1)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD: "^(C2)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(C3)I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

"They will ^(C1)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all ^(C2)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will ^(C3)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(C4)sin I will no longer remember."

This is what the LORD says, He who ^(C1)gives the sun for light by day And the ^(F1)fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who ^(C2)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— ^(C3)The LORD of armies is His name:

"^(C1)If ^(F1)this fixed order departs From Me," declares the LORD, "Then the descendants of Israel also will ^(C2)cease To be a nation before Me ^(F2)forever."

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also ^(C2)reject all the descendants of Israel For everything that they have done," declares the LORD.

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the ^(C1)city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the ^(C2)Tower of Hananel to the ^(C3)Corner Gate.

"The ^(C1)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah.

"And ^(C1)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(C2)Kidron to the corner of the ^(C3)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(C4)holy to the LORD; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again."

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the ^(C1)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah,

because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(C1)imprisoned him, saying, "Why do you ^(C2)prophesy, saying, '^(C3)This is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C4)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it;

and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(C1)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(C2)speak with him ^(F1)face to face and see him eye to eye.

Then he will ^(C1)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(C2)not succeed"'?"

And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself my field which is at ^(C1)Anathoth, for you have the ^(C2)right of redemption to buy it."'

"Then my uncle's son Hanamel came to me in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the LORD and said to me, 'Buy my field, please, that is at ^(C2)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the ^(C3)word of the LORD.

"So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle's son, and I ^(C1)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen ^(C2)shekels of silver.

"And I ^(F1)(C1)signed and ^(C2)sealed the deed, and ^(C3)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

"Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the ^(C1)terms and conditions and the open copy;

and I gave the deed of purchase to ^(C1)Baruch the son of ^(C2)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle's son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

"And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying,

'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may ^(F1)last a long time."

'For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "^(C1)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land."'

"After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I ^(C1)prayed to the LORD, saying,

'^(C1)Oh, Lord ^(F1)GOD! Behold, You Yourself have ^(C2)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! ^(C3)Nothing is too difficult for You,

who ^(C1)shows mercy to thousands, but ^(C2)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, ^(C3)great and ^(C4)mighty God. The ^(C5)LORD of armies is His name;

^(C1)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose ^(C2)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, ^(C3)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;

who has ^(C1)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have ^(C2)made a name for Yourself, as at this day.

'You ^(C1)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

and You gave them this land, which You ^(C1)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

'They ^(C1)came in and took possession of it, but they ^(C2)did not obey Your voice or ^(C3)walk in Your Law; they did not do ^(F1)anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made ^(C4)all this disaster happen to them.

'Behold, the ^(C1)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been ^(C2)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the ^(C3)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has ^(C4)come to pass; and behold, You see it.

'Yet You have said to me, Lord ^(F1)GOD, "Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses"—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.'"

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

"Behold, I am the LORD, the ^(C1)God of all flesh; is anything ^(C2)too difficult for Me?"

Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

"And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and ^(C1)set this city on fire and burn it, with the ^(C2)houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.

"For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only ^(C1)evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only ^(C2)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands," declares the LORD.

"Indeed this city has been to Me a ^(C1)provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be ^(C2)removed from My sight,

because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their ^(C1)kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

"They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, ^(C1)teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline.

"But they ^(C1)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

"They built the ^(C1)high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to ^(C2)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it ^(F1)entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

"Now therefore the LORD God of Israel says the following concerning this city of which you say, 'It has been ^(C1)handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague':

"Behold, I am going to ^(C1)gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and ^(C2)have them live in safety.

"They shall be ^(C1)My people, and I will be their God;

and I will ^(C1)give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own ^(C2)good and for the good of their children after them.

"I will make an ^(C1)everlasting covenant with them that I will ^(C2)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will ^(C3)put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me.

"I will ^(C1)rejoice over them to do them good and will ^(F1)faithfully ^(C2)plant them in this land with ^(C3)all My heart and all My soul.

"For this is what the LORD says: '^(C1)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to ^(C2)bring on them all the good that I am promising them.

'And ^(C1)fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, "^(C2)It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans."

'People will buy fields for money, ^(F1)(C1)sign and seal ^(F2)deeds, and call in witnesses in the ^(C2)land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the ^(F3)Negev; for I will ^(C3)restore their fortunes,' declares the LORD."

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still ^(C1)confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying,

"This is what ^(C1)the LORD says, He who made ^(F1)the earth, the LORD who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ^(C2)LORD:

'^(C1)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ^(C2)great and ^(F1)mighty things, ^(C3)which you do not know.'

"For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says concerning the ^(C1)houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ^(C2)assault ramps and the sword:

'While they are coming to ^(C1)fight the Chaldeans and to fill ^(F1)their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ^(C2)hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:

'Behold, I am going to bring to it ^(C1)healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ^(C2)abundance of peace and truth.

'And I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ^(C2)rebuild them as they were at first.

'And I will ^(C1)cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me.

'^(F1)It will be to Me a ^(C1)name of joy, praise, and glory before ^(C2)all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ^(C3)good that I do for them, and they will be ^(C4)frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.'

"This is what the LORD says: 'Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, "It is a ^(C1)waste, without man and without animal," that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ^(C2)deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,

the voice of ^(C1)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, "^(C2)Give thanks to the LORD of armies, For the LORD is good, For His mercy is everlasting," as they bring a ^(C3)thanksgiving offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the LORD.

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Cross References:  

"This is what the LORD of armies says: 'There will again be in this place which is waste, ^(C1)without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ^(C2)flocks.

'In the ^(C1)cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again ^(C2)pass under the hands of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.

'Behold, ^(C1)days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will ^(C2)fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

'In those days and at that time I will make a ^(C1)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(C2)justice and righteousness on the earth.

'In those days ^(C1)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(C2)LORD is our righteousness.'

"For this is what the LORD says: '^(F1)David shall ^(C1)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

^(F1)and the ^(C1)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(C2)prepare sacrifices ^(F2)continually.'"

And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

"This is what the LORD says: 'If you can ^(C1)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time,

then ^(C1)My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

'As the ^(C1)heavenly ^(F1)lights cannot be counted, and the ^(C2)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(C3)multiply the ^(F2)descendants of My servant David and the ^(C4)Levites who serve Me.'"

And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

"Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, 'The ^(C1)two families which the LORD chose, He has ^(C2)rejected them'? So they ^(C3)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^(F1)in their sight.

"This is what the LORD says: 'If My ^(C1)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(C2)not established the ^(F1)fixed patterns of heaven and earth,

then I would ^(C1)reject the ^(F1)descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^(F1)descendants ^(C2)rulers over the ^(F1)descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(C3)restore their fortunes and have ^(C4)mercy on them.'"

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(C2)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^(F1)control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying,

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Behold, ^(C2)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(C3)he will burn it with fire.

'And as for you, ^(C1)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(C2)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^(F1)face to face, and you will go to Babylon.'"'

"Yet hear the word of the LORD, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the LORD says concerning you: 'You will not die by the sword.

'You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^(C1)burn spices for you; and ^(C2)they will mourn for you, crying, "Oh, my lord!"' For I have spoken the word," declares the LORD.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(C1)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem

when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^(C1)Lachish and ^(C2)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(C3)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had ^(C1)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(C2)proclaim ^(F1)release to them:

that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(C1)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(C2)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage.

And all the ^(C1)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.

But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'I ^(C1)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(C2)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying,

"^(C1)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^(F1)has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you." But your forefathers ^(C2)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me.

'Although recently you had turned and ^(C1)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^(F1)release to his neighbor, and you had ^(C2)made a covenant before Me ^(C3)in the house which is called by My name.

'Yet you ^(C1)turned and ^(C2)profaned My name, and each person ^(F1)took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.'

"Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^(F1)release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(C1)proclaiming a ^(F1)release to you,' declares the LORD, 'to the ^(C2)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(C3)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

'I will give the people who have ^(C1)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(C2)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts—

the ^(C1)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(C1)seek their lives. And their ^(C2)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth.

'^(C1)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(C2)withdrawn from you.

'Behold, I am going to give a command,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(C1)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(C2)desolation ^(C3)without inhabitant.'"

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of ^(C1)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

"Go to the house of the ^(C1)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the ^(C2)chambers, and give them wine to drink."

So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites,

and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(C1)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(C2)the doorkeeper.

Then I set before the ^(F1)men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, "^(C1)Drink wine!"

But they said, "We will not drink wine, for ^(C1)Jonadab the son of ^(C2)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall ^(C3)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever.

'You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^(F1)own one; but you shall live in ^(C1)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(C2)many days ^(F2)in the land where you ^(C3)live as strangers.'

"And we have ^(C1)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(C1)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed.

"But we have ^(C1)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(C2)Jonadab commanded us.

"However, when ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come, and let's ^(C2)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.' So we have lived in Jerusalem."

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

"This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "^(C1)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?" declares the LORD.

"The ^(C1)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. But I have spoken to you ^(C2)again and again, yet you have ^(C3)not listened to Me.

"Also I have sent to you all My ^(C1)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: '^(C2)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(C3)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(C4)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(C5)inclined your ear or listened to Me.

'Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(C1)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.'"'

"Therefore this is what the LORD says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: 'Behold, ^(C1)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(C2)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'"

Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Because you have ^(C1)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you,

therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(C1)will not lack a man to ^(C2)stand before Me ^(F1)always."'"

In the ^(C1)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

"Take a ^(F1)(C1)scroll and write on it all the ^(C2)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(C3)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(C4)nations, from the ^(C5)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.

"^(C1)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(C2)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(C3)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin."

Then Jeremiah called ^(C1)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^(F1)(C2)scroll ^(F2)at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.

Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, "I am ^(F1)(C1)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD.

"So you go and ^(C1)read from the scroll, which you have ^(C2)written ^(F1)at my dictation, the words of the LORD ^(F2)to the people at the LORD'S house on a day of ^(C3)fasting. And you shall also read them ^(F2)to all the people of Judah who come from their cities.

"^(C1)Perhaps their pleading will ^(F1)come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(C2)great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people."

So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(C1)reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house.

Now in the ^(C1)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(C2)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(C3)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(C4)fast before the LORD.

Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD in the ^(C1)chamber of ^(C2)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(C3)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(C4)entry of the New Gate of the LORD'S house.

Now when ^(C1)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the LORD from the book,

he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(C1)Elishama the scribe, ^(C2)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(C3)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

And Micaiah ^(C1)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people.

Then all the officials sent ^(C1)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(C2)took the scroll in his hand and came to them.

And they said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it to us." So Baruch ^(C1)read it to them.

When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(C1)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, "We will certainly ^(C2)report all these words to the king."

Then they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us, please, ^(C1)how did you write all these words? Was it ^(F1)at Jeremiah's dictation?"

And Baruch said to them, "He ^(C1)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book."

Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go, ^(C1)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are."

So they came to the ^(C1)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(C1)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king.

Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(C1)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king.

Now the king was sitting in the ^(C1)winter house in the ^(C2)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him.

And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe's knife and ^(C1)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.

Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(C1)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(C2)tear their garments.

Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(C1)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(C1)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(C2)LORD hid them.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(C1)burned the scroll and the words which ^(C2)Baruch had written ^(F1)at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying,

"^(C1)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(C2)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.

"And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, 'This is what the LORD says: "You have ^(C1)burned this scroll, saying, '^(C2)Why have you written on it ^(F1)that the ^(C3)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?'"

'Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: "He shall have ^(C1)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(C2)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.

"I will also ^(C1)punish him, his ^(F1)descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(C2)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen."'"

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he ^(C1)wrote on it at the ^(F1)dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many ^(F2)similar words were added to them.