The Remnant of Israel Saved
1 “At athe same time,” says the LORD, b“I will be the God of all the *families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2 Thus says the LORD:
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when aI went to give him rest.”
3 The LORD has appeared 1of old to me, saying:
“Yes, aI have *loved you with ban everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have cdrawn you.
4 Again aI will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your btambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 aYou shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and 1eat them as ordinary food.
6 For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
a‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.’ ”
a“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O LORD, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them afrom the north country,
And bgather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 aThey shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk bby the rivers of waters,
In a *straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a *Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My cfirstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And declare it in the 1isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel awill gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For athe LORD has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him bfrom the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in athe height of Zion,
Streaming to bthe goodness of the LORD—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a cwell-watered garden,
dAnd they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will *comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will 1satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be *satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.”
Mercy on Ephraim
15 Thus says the LORD:
a“A voice was heard in bRamah,
Lamentation and bitter cweeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because dthey are no more.”
“Refrain your voice from aweeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is ahope* in your future, says the LORD,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have achastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
bRestore me, and I will return,
For You are the LORD my God.
19 Surely, aafter my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was bashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
aTherefore My 1heart yearns for him;
bI will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.
Make landmarks;
aSet your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
1Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you agad about,
O you bbacksliding daughter?
For the LORD has *created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
Future Prosperity of Judah
23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: a‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and bmountain of holiness!’
24 “And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and ain all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.
25 “For I have 1satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was asweet to me.
27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that aI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.
28 “And it shall come to pass, that as I have awatched* over them bto pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them cto build and to plant, says the LORD.
29 a“In those days they shall say no more:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 a“But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
A New Covenant
31 “Behold, the adays are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new *covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
32 “not according to the covenant that I *made with their fathers in the day that aI took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, 1though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 a“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: bI will put My law in their minds, and *write it on their 1hearts; cand I will be their *God, and they shall be My *people.
34 “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, *‘Know the LORD,’ for athey all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For bI will *forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
aWho gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs bthe sea,
And its waves roar
c(The LORD of hosts is His name):
36 “If athose ordinances depart
From before Me, says the LORD,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
a“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also bcast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the LORD.
38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD afrom the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.
39 a“The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.
40 “And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, ato the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, bshall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD ain the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up ain the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you aprophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: b“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4 “and Zedekiah king of Judah ashall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him 1face to face, and see him beye to eye;
5 “then he shall alead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be buntil I visit him,” says the LORD; c“though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”
6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the aright of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’
8 “Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
9 “So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and aweighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
10 “And I signed the 1deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
11 “So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open;
12 “and I gave the purchase deed to aBaruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the bwitnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.
13 “Then I charged aBaruch before them, saying,
14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.”
15 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be apossessed again in this land.” ’
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
16 “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:
17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, aYou have made the *heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. bThere is nothing too 1hard for You.
18 ‘You show alovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, bthe Mighty God, whose name is cthe LORD of hosts.
19 ‘You are agreat in counsel and mighty in 1work, for Your beyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, cto give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
20 ‘You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself aa name, as it is this day.
21 ‘You ahave brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
22 ‘You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—a“a land flowing with milk and honey.”
23 ‘And they came in and took possession of it, but athey have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.
24 ‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of athe sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
25 ‘And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
God’s Assurance of the People’s Return
26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the aGod of all *flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
28 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
29 ‘And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and aset fire to this city and burn it, with the houses bon whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;
30 ‘because the children of Israel and the children of Judah ahave done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the LORD.
31 ‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; aso I will remove it from before My face
32 ‘because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—athey, their kings, their princes, their priests, btheir prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 ‘And they have turned to Me the aback, and not the face; though I taught them, brising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
34 ‘But they aset their abominations in 1the house which is called by My name, to defile it.
35 ‘And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to acause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to bMolech, cwhich I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’
36 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’:
37 ‘Behold, I will agather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them bto dwell *safely.
38 ‘They shall be aMy people, and I will be their God;
39 ‘then I will agive them *one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
40 ‘And aI will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but bI will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
41 ‘Yes, aI will rejoice over them to do them good, and bI will 1assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’
42 “For thus says the LORD: a‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
43 ‘And fields will be bought in this land aof which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
44 ‘Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in athe land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the 1lowland, and in the cities of the 2South; for bI will cause their captives to return,’ says the LORD.”
Excellence of the Restored Nation
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ashut up in the court of the prison, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD awho made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it b(the1 LORD is His name):
3 a‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and 1mighty things, which you do not know.’
4 “For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against athe siege mounds and the sword:
5 ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to afill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.
6 ‘Behold, aI will bring it health and *healing; I will heal them and *reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
7 ‘And aI will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places bas at the first.
8 ‘I will acleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.
9 a‘Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall bfear* and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’
10 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—aof which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,
11 ‘the avoice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:
For the LORD is good,
For His *mercy endures *forever”—
and of those who will bring cthe sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD.
12 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: a‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
13 a‘In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again bpass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD.
14 a‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that bI will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 ‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A aBranch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16 In those days Judah will be *saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
1THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
17 “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never alack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
18 ‘nor shall the apriests, the Levites, lack a man to boffer burnt offerings before Me, to 1kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”
The Permanence of God’s Covenant
19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
20 “Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,
21 ‘then aMy covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My *ministers.
22 ‘As athe host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I bmultiply the descendants of David My servant and the cLevites who minister to Me.’ ”
23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have adespised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.
25 “Thus says the LORD: ‘If aMy covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not bappointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,
26 a‘then I will bcast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”
Zedekiah Warned by God
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, awhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, ball the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Go and aspeak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, bI will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
3 ‘And ayou shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you bface1 to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’
4 “Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword.
5 ‘You shall die in peace; as in athe ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, bso they shall burn incense for you and clament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.’ ”
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
7 when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only athese fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.
Treacherous Treatment of Slaves
8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim aliberty* to them:
9 athat every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—bthat no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage.
10 Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go.
11 But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.
12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
13 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I made a acovenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,
14 “At the end of aseven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who 1has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.
15 ‘Then you 1recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you amade a covenant before Me bin the house which is called by My name.
16 ‘Then you turned around and aprofaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’
17 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. aBehold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the LORD—b‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to ctrouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 ‘And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when athey cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it—
19 ‘the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the 1eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—
20 ‘I will agive them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their bdead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.
21 ‘And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army awhich has gone back from you.
22 a‘Behold, I will command,’ says the LORD, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it band take it and burn it with fire; and cI will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”
The Obedient Rechabites
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2 “Go to the house of the aRechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of bthe chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites,
4 and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, athe keeper of the 1door.
5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.”
6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for aJonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink bno wine, you nor your sons, forever.
7 ‘You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, athat you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’
8 “Thus we have aobeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
9 “nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed.
10 “But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 “But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, let us ago to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syrians.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.”
12 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying,
13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not areceive *instruction to 1obey My words?” says the LORD.
14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. aBut although I have spoken to you, brising early and speaking, you did not 1obey Me.
15 “I have also sent to you all My aservants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, b‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will cdwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.
16 “Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their afather, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’
17 “Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; abecause I have spoken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ”
18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you,
19 ‘therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to astand before Me forever.” ’ ”
The Scroll Read in the Temple
1 Now it came to pass in the afourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
2 “Take a ascroll of a book and bwrite* on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against call the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of dJosiah even to this day.
3 “It amay be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may bturn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah acalled Baruch the son of Neriah; and bBaruch wrote on a scroll of a book, 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.
5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD.
6 “You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written 1at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house on athe day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities.
7 “It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”
8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.
9 Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a *fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the aentry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house, in the 1hearing of all the people.
The Scroll Read in the Palace
11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the book,
12 he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sitting—aElishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, bElnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
13 Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people.
14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.
15 And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.”
17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—1at his instruction?”
18 So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”
19 Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.”
The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll
20 And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king.
21 So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.
22 Now the king was sitting in athe winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him.
23 And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
24 Yet they were anot afraid, nor did they btear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
25 Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah *implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them.
26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel 1the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying:
28 “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.
29 “And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have burned this scroll, saying, a‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to bcease from here?’ ”
30 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: a“He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be bcast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.
31 “I will punish him, his 1family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it 1at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.
Zedekiah’s Vain Hope
1 Now King aZedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
2 aBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.
3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and aZephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, b“Pray now to the LORD our God for us.”
4 Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.
5 Then aPharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, awho sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land.
8 a“And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’
9 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart.
10 a‘For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people.
13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”
14 Then Jeremiah said, 1“False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.
15 Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him aand put him in prison in the bhouse of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah entered athe dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,
17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be adelivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”
18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
19 “Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?
20 “Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”
21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah ato the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, buntil all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Jeremiah in the Dungeon
1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, aJucal1 the son of Shelemiah, and bPashhur the son of Malchiah cheard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD: a‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’
3 “Thus says the LORD: a‘This city shall surely be bgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, alet this man be put to death, for thus he 1weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the 2welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
6 aSo they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah 1the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
7 aNow Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the 1eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:
9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is ano more bread in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained ain the court of the prison.
Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will aask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, awho made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely asurrender1 bto the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
18 ‘But if you do not 1surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and ayou shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have adefected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they babuse me.”
20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be awell with you, and your soul shall live.
21 “But if you refuse to 1surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
22 ‘Now behold, all the awomen who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have 1set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have 2turned away again.”
23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and achildren to the Chaldeans. bYou shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
25 “But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’
26 “then you shall say to them, a‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return bto Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.
28 Now aJeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
The Fall of Jerusalem
1 In the aninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2 In the aeleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the 1city was penetrated.
3 aThen all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, 1Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, 2Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4 aSo it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the 1plain.
5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and aovertook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to bRiblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
6 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his aeyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the bnobles of Judah.
7 Moreover ahe put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze 1fetters to carry him off to Babylon.
8 aAnd the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with bfire, and broke down the cwalls of Jerusalem.
9 aThen Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who bdefected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.
10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the apoor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields 1at the same time.
Jeremiah Goes Free
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12 “Take him and look after him, and do him no aharm; but do to him just as he says to you.”
13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers;
14 then they sent someone ato take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him bto Gedaliah the son of cAhikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.
15 Meanwhile the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16 “Go and speak to aEbed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, bI will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.
17 “But I will deliver you in that day,” says the LORD, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
18 “For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but ayour life shall be as a prize to you, bbecause you have put your trust in Me,” says the LORD.’ ”
Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD aafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.
2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and asaid to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
3 “Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. aBecause you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.
4 “And now look, I free you this day from the chains that 1were on your hand. aIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, ball the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”
5 Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to aGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, bwhom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.
6 aThen Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to bMizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.
7 aAnd when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and bthe poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,
8 then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—aIshmael the son of Nethaniah, bJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and cJezaniah1 the son of a dMaachathite, they and their men.
9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be *afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and *serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be awell with you.
10 “As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”
11 Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
12 then all the Jews areturned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.
13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
14 and said to him, 1“Do you certainly know that aBaalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not *believe them.
15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the aremnant in Judah perish?”
16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”
Insurrection Against Gedaliah
1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month athat Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal 1family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at bMizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
2 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and astruck Gedaliah the son of bAhikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made cgovernor over the land.
3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4 And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it,
5 that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men awith their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with *offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to bthe house of the LORD.
6 Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!”
7 So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah akilled them and cast them into the midst of a 1pit, he and the men who were with him.
8 But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren.
9 Now the 1pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was athe same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the arest of the people who were in Mizpah, bthe king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, cwhom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to dthe Ammonites.
11 But when aJohanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
12 they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by athe great pool that is in Gibeon.
13 So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad.
14 Then all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the arest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.
17 And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of aChimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to bEgypt,
18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, awhom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.
The Flight to Egypt Forbidden
1 Now all the captains of the forces, aJohanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near
2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, a“Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and bpray for us to the LORD your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but ca few of many, as you can see),
3 “that the LORD your God may show us athe way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.”
4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your words, and it shall be, that awhatever the LORD answers you, I will declare it to you. I will bkeep nothing back from you.”
5 So they said to Jeremiah, a“Let the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the LORD your God sends us by you.
6 “Whether it is 1pleasing or 2displeasing, we will aobey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we send you, bthat it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”
7 And it happened after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
8 Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him:
10 ‘If you will still remain in this land, then aI will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I brelent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.
11 ‘Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, a‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.
12 ‘And aI will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’
13 “But if ayou say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God,
14 “saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of aEgypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’—
15 “Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you awholly1 set byour faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there,
16 ‘then it shall be that the asword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.
17 ‘So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And anone of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’
18 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury have been apoured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And byou shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’
19 “The LORD has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, a‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have 1admonished you this day.
20 “For you 1were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’
21 “And I have this day declared it to you, but you have anot obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or anything which He has sent you by me.
22 “Now therefore, know certainly that you ashall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”
Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
1 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the awords of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words,
2 athat Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’
3 “But aBaruch the son of Neriah has 1set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would anot obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah.
5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took aall the remnant of Judah who had returned to *dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven—
6 men, women, children, athe king’s daughters, band every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7 aSo they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they went as far as bTahpanhes.
8 Then the aword of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9 “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the 1clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes;
10 “and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, aMy servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them.
11 a“When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death bthose appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.
12 1“I will kindle a fire in the houses of athe gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace.
13 “He shall also break the sacred pillars of 1Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.” ’ ”
Israelites Will Be Punished in Egypt
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at aMigdol, at bTahpanhes, at cNoph,1 and in the country of dPathros, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are aa desolation, and no one dwells in them,
3 ‘because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went ato burn incense and to bserve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers.
4 ‘However aI have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!”
5 ‘But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.
6 ‘So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they 1are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’
7 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil aagainst yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain,
8 ‘in that you aprovoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be ba curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9 ‘Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 ‘They have not been ahumbled,1 to this day, nor have they bfeared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’
11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, aI will set My face against you for catastrophe and for 1cutting off all Judah.
12 ‘And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to *dwell there, and athey shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and bthey shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach!
13 a‘For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence,
14 ‘so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they adesire1 to return and dwell. For bnone shall return except those who escape.’ ”
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying:
16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, awe will not listen to you!
17 “But we will certainly do awhatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the bqueen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of 1food, were well-off, and saw no trouble.
18 “But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”
19 The women also said, a“And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?”
20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying:
21 “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind?
22 “So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, aas it is this day.
23 “Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, atherefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”
24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
25 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’
26 “Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, aI have sworn by My bgreat name,’ says the LORD, ‘that cMy name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.”
27 ‘Behold, I will *watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt ashall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.
28 ‘Yet aa small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
29 ‘And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely astand against you for adversity.’
30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, aI will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave bZedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’ ”
Assurance to Baruch
1 The aword that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to bBaruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the cfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch:
3 ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the LORD has added grief to my sorrow. I afainted in my sighing, and I find no *rest.” ’
4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, awhat I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land.
5 “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, aI will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your blife to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ”
Judgment on Egypt
1 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against athe *nations.
bConcerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon cdefeated in the dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Order1 the 2buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth with your helmets,
Polish the spears,
aPut on the armor!
5 Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back?
Their mighty ones are beaten down;
They have speedily fled,
And did not look back,
For afear was all around,” says the LORD.
6 “Do not let the swift flee away,
Nor the mighty man escape;
They will astumble and fall
Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.
7 “Who is this coming up alike a flood,
Whose waters move like the rivers?
8 Egypt rises up like a flood,
And its waters move like the rivers;
And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth,
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
1The Ethiopians and 2the Libyans who handle the shield,
And the Lydians awho handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is athe day of the Lord GOD of hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
bThe sword shall devour;
It shall be 1satiated and made drunk with their blood;
For the Lord GOD of hosts chas a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates.
11 “Goa up to Gilead and take balm,
bO virgin, the daughter of Egypt;
In vain you will use many medicines;
cYou shall not be cured.
12 The nations have heard of your ashame,
And your cry has filled the land;
For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;
They both have fallen together.”
Babylonia Will Strike Egypt
13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and astrike the land of Egypt.
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in aMigdol;
Proclaim in 1Noph and in bTahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,
For the sword devours all around you.’
15 Why are your valiant men swept away?
They did not stand
Because the LORD drove them away.
Yes, aone fell upon another.
And they said, ‘Arise!
bLet us go back to our own people
And to the land of our nativity
From the oppressing sword.’
17 They cried there,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise.
He has passed by the appointed time!’
18 “As I live,” says the King,
aWhose name is the LORD of hosts,
“Surely as Tabor is among the mountains
And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
19 O ayou daughter dwelling in Egypt,
Prepare yourself bto go into captivity!
For 1Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a very pretty aheifer,
But destruction comes, it comes bfrom the north.
21 Also her mercenaries are in her midst like 1fat bulls,
For they also are turned back,
They have fled away together.
They did not stand,
For athe day of their calamity had come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22 aHer noise shall go like a serpent,
For they shall march with an army
And come against her with axes,
Like those who chop wood.
23 “They shall acut down her forest,” says the LORD,
“Though it cannot be searched,