Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

English Standard Version

Restoration for Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(A)Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ³^(B)For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^(C)when I will restore ^(D)the fortunes of my people, ^(E)Israel and Judah, says the Lord, ^(F)and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ^(G)Israel and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
    of terror, and no peace.
⁶Ask now, and see,
    can a man bear a child?
^(H)Why then do I see every man
    with his hands on his stomach ^(I)like a woman in labor?
    ^(J)Why has every face turned pale?
⁷Alas! ^(K)That day is so great
    ^(L)there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
    yet he shall be saved out of it.

⁸“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^(M)break his ^(N)yoke from off your neck, and I will ^(O)burst your bonds, ^(P)and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.^[a] ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(Q)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰^(R)“Then fear not, ^(S)O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, ^(T)I will save you from far away,
    ^(U)and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
^(V)Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
¹¹^(W)For I am with you to save you,
declares the Lord;
^(X)I will make a full end of all the nations
    among whom I scattered you,
    but of you I will not make a full end.
^(Y)I will ^(Z)discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the Lord:
^(AA)Your hurt is incurable,
    ^(AB)and your wound is grievous.
¹³There is none to uphold your cause,
    no medicine for your wound,
    ^(AC)no healing for you.
¹⁴^(AD)All your lovers have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of ^(AE)an enemy,
    the punishment ^(AF)of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
    ^(AG)because your sins are flagrant.
¹⁵^(AH)Why do you cry out over your hurt?
    ^(AI)Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
    ^(AJ)because your sins are flagrant,
    I have done these things to you.
¹⁶^(AK)Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
    and ^(AL)all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
^(AM)those who plunder you shall be plundered,
    ^(AN)and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
¹⁷^(AO)For I will restore ^(AP)health to you,
    and ^(AQ)your wounds I will heal,
declares the Lord,
because ^(AR)they have called you an outcast:
    ^(AS)‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:
Behold, ^(AT)I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
    and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on ^(AU)its mound,
    and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
¹⁹^(AV)Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
    and the voices of those who celebrate.
^(AW)I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
    I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
²⁰^(AX)Their children shall be as they were of old,
    and their congregation shall be established before me,
    and I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹^(AY)Their prince shall be one of themselves;
    ^(AZ)their ruler shall come out from their midst;
^(BA)I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
    ^(BB)for who would dare of himself to approach me?
declares the Lord.
²²^(BC)And you shall be my people,
    and I will be your God.”

²³^(BD)Behold ^(BE)the storm of the Lord!
    Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
²⁴^(BF)The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he has executed and accomplished
    the intentions of his mind.
^(BG)In the latter days you will understand this.

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31 ^(BH)“At that time, declares the Lord, ^(BI)I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

²Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness;
^(BJ)when Israel sought for rest,
³    the Lord appeared to him^[b] from far away.
^(BK)I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore ^(BL)I have continued ^(BM)my faithfulness to you.
⁴^(BN)Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
    O virgin Israel!
^(BO)Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
    and shall go forth in ^(BP)the dance of the merrymakers.
⁵^(BQ)Again you shall plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
    and shall enjoy the fruit.
⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
    in ^(BR)the hill country of Ephraim:
^(BS)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”

⁷For thus says the Lord:
^(BT)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for ^(BU)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    ^(BV)‘O Lord, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
⁸Behold, I will bring them ^(BW)from the north country
    and ^(BX)gather them from ^(BY)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^(BZ)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
⁹^(CA)With weeping they shall come,
    ^(CB)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^(CC)walk by brooks of water,
    ^(CD)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^(CE)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is ^(CF)my firstborn.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^(CG)gather him,
    and will keep him ^(CH)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
¹¹^(CI)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from ^(CJ)hands too strong for him.
¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    ^(CK)and they shall be radiant ^(CL)over the goodness of the Lord,
^(CM)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^(CN)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    ^(CO)and they shall languish no more.
¹³^(CP)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^(CQ)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴^(CR)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

¹⁵Thus says the Lord:
^(CS)“A voice is heard in ^(CT)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
^(CU)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    ^(CV)because they are no more.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(CW)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷^(CX)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
¹⁸I have heard ^(CY)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
^(CZ)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹For after ^(DA)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, ^(DB)I struck my thigh;
^(DC)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
²⁰^(DD)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    ^(DE)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
^(DF)Therefore my heart^[c] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

²¹^(DG)“Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts;
^(DH)consider well the highway,
    ^(DI)the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities.
²²^(DJ)How long will you waver,
    ^(DK)O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
    a woman encircles a man.”

²³Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, ^(DL)when I restore their fortunes:

^(DM)“‘The Lord bless you, ^(DN)O habitation of righteousness,
^(DO)O holy hill!’

²⁴^(DP)And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ^(DQ)the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. ²⁵For I will ^(DR)satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

²⁶At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

²⁷^(DS)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^(DT)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ^(DU)the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸And it shall come to pass that ^(DV)as I have watched over them ^(DW)to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, ^(DX)so I will watch over them ^(DY)to build and to plant, declares the Lord. ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say:

^(DZ)“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

³⁰^(EA)But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

³¹^(EB)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make ^(EC)a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ^(ED)I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ^(EE)though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³^(EF)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: ^(EG)I will put my law within them, and I will write it ^(EH)on their hearts. ^(EI)And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ ^(EJ)for they shall all know me, ^(EK)from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For ^(EL)I will forgive their iniquity, and ^(EM)I will remember their sin no more.”

³⁵Thus says the Lord,
who ^(EN)gives the sun for light by day
    and ^(EO)the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    ^(EP)the Lord of hosts is his name:
³⁶^(EQ)“If this fixed order departs
    from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
    from being a nation before me forever.”

³⁷Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
^(ER)then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”

³⁸^(ES)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ^(ET)from the Tower of Hananel to ^(EU)the Corner Gate. ³⁹^(EV)And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰^(EW)The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the ^(EX)brook Kidron, to the corner of ^(EY)the Horse Gate toward the east, ^(EZ)shall be sacred to the Lord. ^(FA)It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(FB)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^(FC)which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ²At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^(FD)was shut up in ^(FE)the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. ³For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(FF)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; ⁴^(FG)Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, ^(FH)but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵And ^(FI)he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ^(FJ)Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

⁶Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ^(FK)‘Buy my field that is at ^(FL)Anathoth, ^(FM)for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ ⁸Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in ^(FN)the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at ^(FO)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

⁹“And I bought the field at ^(FP)Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and ^(FQ)weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰^(FR)I signed the deed, ^(FS)sealed it, ^(FT)got witnesses, and ^(FU)weighed the money on scales. ¹¹Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. ¹²And I gave the deed of purchase to ^(FV)Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of ^(FW)the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in ^(FX)the court of the guard. ¹³I charged ^(FY)Baruch in their presence, saying, ¹⁴‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^(FZ)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶“After I had given the deed of purchase to ^(GA)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^(GB)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^(GC)your outstretched arm! ^(GD)Nothing is too hard for you. ¹⁸^(GE)You show steadfast love to thousands, ^(GF)but you repay the guilt of fathers ^(GG)to their children after them, O great and ^(GH)mighty God, whose name is the ^(GI)Lord of hosts, ¹⁹^(GJ)great in counsel and ^(GK)mighty in deed, ^(GL)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^(GM)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. ²⁰You have shown ^(GN)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, ^(GO)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. ²¹^(GP)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^(GQ)outstretched arm, ^(GR)and with great terror. ²²And you gave them this land, ^(GS)which you swore to their fathers to give them, ^(GT)a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³And they entered and took possession of it. ^(GU)But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. ²⁴Behold, ^(GV)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^(GW)because of sword and famine and pestilence ^(GX)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. ²⁵Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, ^(GY)“Buy the field for money ^(GZ)and get witnesses”—though ^(HA)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

²⁶The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, ^(HB)the God of all flesh. ^(HC)Is anything too hard for me? ²⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord: ^(HD)Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. ²⁹The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city ^(HE)shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, ^(HF)with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal ^(HG)and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, ^(HH)to provoke me to anger. ³⁰For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ^(HI)from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but ^(HJ)provoke me to anger ^(HK)by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. ³¹This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, ^(HL)so that I will remove it from my sight ³²because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—^(HM)their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³^(HN)They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them ^(HO)persistently, they have not listened ^(HP)to receive instruction. ³⁴They set up ^(HQ)their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵They built the high places of Baal ^(HR)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^(HS)to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^(HT)though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do ^(HU)this abomination, ^(HV)to cause Judah to sin.

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

³⁶“Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ^(HW)‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: ³⁷^(HX)Behold, I will gather them from all the countries ^(HY)to which I drove them in ^(HZ)my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, ^(IA)and I will make them dwell in safety. ³⁸^(IB)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹^(IC)I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^(ID)for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰^(IE)I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. ^(IF)And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. ⁴¹^(IG)I will rejoice in doing them good, ^(IH)and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

⁴²“For thus says the Lord: ^(II)Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. ⁴³^(IJ)Fields shall be bought in this land ^(IK)of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; ^(IL)it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for money, and ^(IM)deeds shall be signed and ^(IN)sealed and ^(IO)witnessed, ^(IP)in the land of Benjamin, ^(IQ)in the places about Jerusalem, ^(IR)and in the cities of Judah, ^(IS)in the cities of the hill country, ^(IT)in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ^(IU)I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(IV)shut up in the court of the guard: ²“Thus says ^(IW)the Lord who made the earth,^[d] the Lord who formed it to establish it—^(IX)the Lord is his name: ³^(IY)Call to me and I will answer you, ^(IZ)and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. ⁴For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against ^(JA)the siege mounds and against the sword: ⁵They are coming in ^(JB)to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them^[e] with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down ^(JC)in my anger and my wrath, ^(JD)for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. ⁶^(JE)Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. ⁷^(JF)I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^(JG)and rebuild them as they were ^(JH)at first. ⁸^(JI)I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^(JJ)and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. ⁹^(JK)And this city^[f] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall ^(JL)fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

¹⁰“Thus says the Lord: In this place ^(JM)of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again ¹¹^(JN)the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring ^(JO)thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^(JP)“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’

^(JQ)For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

¹²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(JR)In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^(JS)habitations of shepherds ^(JT)resting their flocks. ¹³^(JU)In the cities of the hill country, ^(JV)in the cities of the Shephelah, ^(JW)and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^(JX)the places about Jerusalem, ^(JY)and in the cities of Judah, ^(JZ)flocks shall again pass under the hands ^(KA)of the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David

¹⁴^(KB)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^(KC)I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous ^(KD)Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, ^(KE)and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ^(KF)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

¹⁷“For thus says the Lord: ^(KG)David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸^(KH)and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”

¹⁹The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰^(KI)“Thus says the Lord: ^(KJ)If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^(KK)so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ²¹^(KL)then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²²As ^(KM)the host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^(KN)the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

²³The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴“Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. ²⁵Thus says the Lord: ^(KO)If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, ²⁶then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^(KP)For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^(KQ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army ^(KR)and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to ^(KS)Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(KT)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. ³^(KU)You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. ^(KV)You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ ⁴Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! ^(KW)Thus says the Lord concerning you: ^(KX)‘You shall not die by the sword. ⁵You shall die in peace. ^(KY)And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall ^(KZ)burn spices for you ^(LA)and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, ⁷when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, ^(LB)Lachish and ^(LC)Azekah, ^(LD)for these were the only ^(LE)fortified cities of Judah that remained.

⁸The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah ^(LF)had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem ^(LG)to make a proclamation of liberty to them, ⁹^(LH)that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, ^(LI)so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. ¹⁰And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. ¹¹But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves ^(LJ)they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. ¹²The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ¹³“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when ^(LK)I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, ¹⁴^(LL)‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; ^(LM)you must set him free from your service.’ But ^(LN)your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. ¹⁵You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes ^(LO)by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and ^(LP)you made a covenant before me in the ^(LQ)house that is called by my name, ¹⁶but then you turned around ^(LR)and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, ^(LS)whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

¹⁷“Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me ^(LT)by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; ^(LU)behold, I proclaim to you liberty ^(LV)to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. ^(LW)I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of ^(LX)the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like^[g] ^(LY)the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, ^(LZ)the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. ²⁰And I will give them into the hand of their enemies ^(MA)and into the hand of those who seek their lives. ^(MB)Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. ²¹And ^(MC)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon ^(MD)which has withdrawn from you. ²²Behold, ^(ME)I will command, declares the Lord, and will ^(MF)bring them back to this city. ^(MG)And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. ^(MH)I will make the cities of Judah a desolation ^(MI)without inhabitant.”

The Obedience of the Rechabites

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^(MJ)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: ²“Go to the house of the ^(MK)Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of ^(ML)the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” ³So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. ⁴I brought them to the house of the Lord into ^(MM)the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, ^(MN)the man of God, which was near ^(MO)the chamber of the officials, above ^(MP)the chamber of ^(MQ)Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(MR)keeper of the threshold. ⁵Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” ⁶But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for ^(MS)Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. ⁷You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, ^(MT)that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ ⁸We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, ¹⁰but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. ¹¹But ^(MU)when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of ^(MV)the army of the Chaldeans and ^(MW)the army of the Syrians.’ ^(MX)So we are living in Jerusalem.”

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ^(MY)Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. ¹⁴The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you ^(MZ)persistently, but you have not listened to me. ¹⁵I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them ^(NA)persistently, saying, ^(NB)‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and ^(NC)do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ ^(ND)But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. ¹⁶The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. ¹⁷Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, ^(NE)because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, ^(NF)I have called to them and they have not answered.”

¹⁸But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man ^(NG)to stand before me.”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll

36 In the ^(NH)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Take ^(NI)a scroll and ^(NJ)write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and ^(NK)Judah ^(NL)and all the nations, ^(NM)from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. ³^(NN)It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, ^(NO)so that every one may turn from his evil way, and ^(NP)that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

⁴Then Jeremiah called ^(NQ)Baruch the son of Neriah, and ^(NR)Baruch wrote on ^(NS)a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. ⁵And Jeremiah ordered ^(NT)Baruch, saying, ^(NU)“I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, ⁶so you are to go, and ^(NV)on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. ⁷^(NW)It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, ^(NX)and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.

⁹^(NY)In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(NZ)in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem ^(OA)proclaimed a fast before the Lord. ¹⁰Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in ^(OB)the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord's house.

¹¹When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of ^(OC)Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹²he went down to the king's house, into the secretary's chamber, and ^(OD)all the officials were sitting there: ^(OE)Elishama the secretary, ^(OF)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(OG)Elnathan ^(OH)the son of Achbor, ^(OI)Gemariah the son of ^(OJ)Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. ¹³And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of ^(OK)Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you 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. ¹⁵And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, ^(OL)“We must report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” ¹⁸Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, ^(OM)while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” ¹⁹Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

²⁰So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in ^(ON)the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. ²²It was ^(OO)the ninth month, and the king was sitting in ^(OP)the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. ²³As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. ²⁴Yet ^(OQ)neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, ^(OR)nor did they tear their garments. ²⁵Even when ^(OS)Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah ^(OT)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶And the king commanded Jerahmeel the ^(OU)king's son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and ^(OV)Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize ^(OW)Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

²⁷Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸“Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. ²⁹And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, ^(OX)“Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” ³⁰Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: ^(OY)He shall have none ^(OZ)to sit on the throne of David, ^(PA)and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. ³¹^(PB)And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

³²Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to ^(PC)Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who ^(PD)wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

37 ^(PE)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, ^(PF)whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of ^(PG)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ²^(PH)But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³King Zedekiah sent ^(PI)Jehucal the son of ^(PJ)Shelemiah, and ^(PK)Zephaniah the priest, the son of ^(PL)Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please ^(PM)pray for us to the Lord our God.” ⁴^(PN)Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, ^(PO)for he had not yet been put in prison. ⁵^(PP)The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when ^(PQ)the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, ^(PR)they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷“Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^(PS)sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^(PT)Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to ^(PU)return to Egypt, to its own land. ⁸And ^(PV)the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^(PW)They shall capture it and burn it with fire. ⁹Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. ¹⁰^(PX)For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(PY)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹Now when ^(PZ)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, ¹²Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^(QA)the land of Benjamin ^(QB)to receive his portion there ^(QC)among the people. ¹³When he was at ^(QD)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^(QE)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(QF)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” ¹⁴And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^(QG)the officials. ¹⁵And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^(QH)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

¹⁶^(QI)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, ¹⁷King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(QJ)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(QK)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^(QL)that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹^(QM)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^(QN)let my humble plea come before you and ^(QO)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^(QP)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, ^(QQ)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^(QR)the court of the guard.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^(QS)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(QT)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: ²“Thus says the Lord: ^(QU)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(QV)but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. ³Thus says the Lord: ^(QW)This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” ⁴Then the officials said to the king, ^(QX)“Let this man be put to death, ^(QY)for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^(QZ)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^(RA)for the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶So they took Jeremiah ^(RB)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in ^(RC)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^(RD)by ropes. ^(RE)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^(RF)Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

⁷When ^(RG)Ebed-melech ^(RH)the Ethiopian, ^(RI)a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^(RJ)in the Benjamin Gate— ⁸^(RK)Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, ⁹“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^(RL)hunger, ^(RM)for there is no bread left in the city.” ¹⁰Then the king commanded ^(RN)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹So ^(RO)Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^(RP)by ropes. ¹²Then ^(RQ)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^(RR)the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. ¹³Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^(RS)ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^(RT)court of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

¹⁴King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” ¹⁵Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶Then King Zedekiah swore ^(RU)secretly to Jeremiah, ^(RV)“As the Lord lives, ^(RW)who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^(RX)these men who seek your life.”

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(RY)If you will surrender to ^(RZ)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(SA)then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸But if you do not surrender to ^(SB)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(SC)then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^(SD)and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” ¹⁹King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^(SE)who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” ²⁰Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^(SF)and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. ²¹But if you refuse to ^(SG)surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: ²²Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

^(SH)“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’

Footnotes

Jeremiah 30:8 Or serve him
Jeremiah 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me
Jeremiah 31:20 Hebrew bowels
Jeremiah 33:2 Septuagint; Hebrew it
Jeremiah 33:5 That is, the torn-down houses
Jeremiah 33:9 Hebrew And it
Jeremiah 34:18 Hebrew lacks them like

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

New International Version

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write^(A) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³The days^(B) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring^(C) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity^[a] and restore^(D) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

⁴These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear^(E) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
⁶Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,^(F)
    every face turned deathly pale?^(G)
⁷How awful that day^(H) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble^(I) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved^(J) out of it.

⁸“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke^(K) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;^(L)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.^(M)
⁹Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David^(N) their king,^(O)
    whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“‘So do not be afraid,^(P) Jacob my servant;^(Q)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save^(R) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,^(S)
    and no one will make him afraid.^(T)
¹¹I am with you^(U) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy^(V) you.
I will discipline^(W) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’^(X)

¹²“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound^(Y) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.^(Z)
¹³There is no one to plead your cause,^(AA)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing^(AB) for you.
¹⁴All your allies^(AC) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy^(AD) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,^(AE)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins^(AF) so many.
¹⁵Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?^(AG)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.^(AH)

¹⁶“‘But all who devour^(AI) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.^(AJ)
Those who plunder^(AK) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷But I will restore you to health
    and heal^(AL) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,^(AM)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’^(AN)

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes^(AO) of Jacob’s tents^(AP)
    and have compassion^(AQ) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt^(AR) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹From them will come songs^(AS) of thanksgiving^(AT)
    and the sound of rejoicing.^(AU)
I will add to their numbers,^(AV)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,^(AW)
    and they will not be disdained.
²⁰Their children^(AX) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established^(AY) before me;
    I will punish^(AZ) all who oppress them.
²¹Their leader^(BA) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.^(BB)
I will bring him near^(BC) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
²²“‘So you will be my people,^(BD)
    and I will be your God.^(BE)’”

²³See, the storm^(BF) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁴The fierce anger^(BG) of the Lord will not turn back^(BH)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand^(BI) this.

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God^(BJ) of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

²This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword
will find favor^(BK) in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest^(BL) to Israel.”

³The Lord appeared to us in the past,^[b] saying:

“I have loved^(BM) you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn^(BN) you with unfailing kindness.
⁴I will build you up again,
    and you, Virgin^(BO) Israel, will be rebuilt.^(BP)
Again you will take up your timbrels^(BQ)
    and go out to dance^(BR) with the joyful.^(BS)
⁵Again you will plant^(BT) vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;^(BU)
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.^(BV)
⁶There will be a day when watchmen^(BW) cry out
    on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”^(BX)

⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Sing^(BY) with joy for Jacob;
    shout for the foremost^(BZ) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
    ‘Lord, save^(CA) your people,
    the remnant^(CB) of Israel.’
⁸See, I will bring them from the land of the north^(CC)
    and gather^(CD) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind^(CE) and the lame,^(CF)
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    a great throng will return.
⁹They will come with weeping;^(CG)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead^(CH) them beside streams of water^(CI)
    on a level^(CJ) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,^(CK)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:^(CL)
‘He who scattered^(CM) Israel will gather^(CN) them
    and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’^(CO)
¹¹For the Lord will deliver Jacob
    and redeem^(CP) them from the hand of those stronger^(CQ) than they.
¹²They will come and shout for joy^(CR) on the heights^(CS) of Zion;
    they will rejoice in the bounty^(CT) of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,^(CU)
    the young of the flocks^(CV) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,^(CW)
    and they will sorrow^(CX) no more.
¹³Then young women will dance and be glad,
    young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning^(CY) into gladness;
    I will give them comfort^(CZ) and joy^(DA) instead of sorrow.
¹⁴I will satisfy^(DB) the priests^(DC) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,^(DD)”
declares the Lord.

¹⁵This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,^(DE)
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,^(DF)
    because they are no more.”^(DG)

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,^(DH)
for your work will be rewarded,^(DI)”
declares the Lord.
    “They will return^(DJ) from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷So there is hope^(DK) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
    “Your children^(DL) will return to their own land.

¹⁸“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined^(DM) me like an unruly calf,^(DN)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore^(DO) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹After I strayed,^(DP)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat^(DQ) my breast.
I was ashamed^(DR) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’^(DS)
²⁰Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child^(DT) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember^(DU) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion^(DV) for him,”
declares the Lord.

²¹“Set up road signs;
    put up guideposts.^(DW)
Take note of the highway,^(DX)
    the road that you take.
Return,^(DY) Virgin^(DZ) Israel,
    return to your towns.
²²How long will you wander,^(EA)
    unfaithful^(EB) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing^(EC) on earth—
    the woman will return to^[c]^(ED) the man.”

²³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,^[d]^(EE) the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless^(EF) you, you prosperous city,^(EG) you sacred mountain.’^(EH) ²⁴People will live^(EI) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.^(EJ) ²⁵I will refresh the weary^(EK) and satisfy the faint.”^(EL)

²⁶At this I awoke^(EM) and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

²⁷“The days are coming,”^(EN) declares the Lord, “when I will plant^(EO) the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. ²⁸Just as I watched^(EP) over them to uproot^(EQ) and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,^(ER) so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”^(ES) declares the Lord. ²⁹“In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parents^(ET) have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’^(EU)

³⁰Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;^(EV) whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

³¹“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant^(EW)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
³²It will not be like the covenant^(EX)
    I made with their ancestors^(EY)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,^(EZ)
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband^(FA) to^[e] them,^[f]”
declares the Lord.
³³“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds^(FB)
    and write it on their hearts.^(FC)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.^(FD)
³⁴No longer will they teach^(FE) their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know^(FF) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive^(FG) their wickedness
    and will remember their sins^(FH) no more.”

³⁵This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints^(FI) the sun
    to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
    to shine by night,^(FJ)
who stirs up the sea^(FK)
    so that its waves roar^(FL)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:^(FM)
³⁶“Only if these decrees^(FN) vanish from my sight,”
    declares the Lord,
“will Israel^(FO) ever cease
    being a nation before me.”

³⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measured^(FP)
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject^(FQ) all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.

³⁸“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt^(FR) for me from the Tower of Hananel^(FS) to the Corner Gate.^(FT) ³⁹The measuring line^(FU) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰The whole valley^(FV) where dead bodies^(FW) and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley^(FX) on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,^(FY) will be holy^(FZ) to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth^(GA) year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth^(GB) year of Nebuchadnezzar. ²The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging^(GC) Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined^(GD) in the courtyard of the guard^(GE) in the royal palace of Judah.

³Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy^(GF) as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture^(GG) it. ⁴Zedekiah^(GH) king of Judah will not escape^(GI) the Babylonians^[g]^(GJ) but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. ⁵He will take^(GK) Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,^(GL) declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”^(GM)

⁶Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,^(GN) because as nearest relative it is your right and duty^(GO) to buy it.’

⁸“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field^(GP) at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; ⁹so I bought the field^(GQ) at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels^[h] of silver.^(GR) ¹⁰I signed and sealed the deed,^(GS) had it witnessed,^(GT) and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— ¹²and I gave this deed to Baruch^(GU) son of Neriah,^(GV) the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ¹⁴‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed^(GW) and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. ¹⁵For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’^(GX)

¹⁶“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch^(GY) son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

¹⁷“Ah, Sovereign Lord,^(GZ) you have made the heavens and the earth^(HA) by your great power and outstretched arm.^(HB) Nothing is too hard^(HC) for you. ¹⁸You show love^(HD) to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps^(HE) of their children^(HF) after them. Great and mighty God,^(HG) whose name is the Lord Almighty,^(HH) ¹⁹great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.^(HI) Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;^(HJ) you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.^(HK) ²⁰You performed signs and wonders^(HL) in Egypt^(HM) and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown^(HN) that is still yours. ²¹You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand^(HO) and an outstretched arm^(HP) and with great terror.^(HQ) ²²You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.^(HR) ²³They came in and took possession^(HS) of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;^(HT) they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster^(HU) on them.

²⁴“See how the siege ramps^(HV) are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague,^(HW) the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said^(HX) has happened,^(HY) as you now see. ²⁵And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field^(HZ) with silver and have the transaction witnessed.^(IA)’”

²⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.^(IB) Is anything too hard for me?^(IC) ²⁸Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar^(ID) king of Babylon, who will capture it.^(IE) ²⁹The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down,^(IF) along with the houses^(IG) where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings^(IH) to other gods.^(II)

³⁰“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth;^(IJ) indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger^(IK) with what their hands have made,^(IL) declares the Lord. ³¹From the day it was built until now, this city^(IM) has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove^(IN) it from my sight. ³²The people of Israel and Judah have provoked^(IO) me by all the evil^(IP) they have done—they, their kings and officials,^(IQ) their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. ³³They turned their backs^(IR) to me and not their faces; though I taught^(IS) them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.^(IT) ³⁴They set up their vile images^(IU) in the house that bears my Name^(IV) and defiled^(IW) it. ³⁵They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(IX) to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,^(IY) though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind^(IZ)—that they should do such a detestable^(JA) thing and so make Judah sin.^(JB)

³⁶“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague^(JC) it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ³⁷I will surely gather^(JD) them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger^(JE) and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.^(JF) ³⁸They will be my people,^(JG) and I will be their God. ³⁹I will give them singleness^(JH) of heart and action, so that they will always fear^(JI) me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make an everlasting covenant^(JJ) with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire^(JK) them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.^(JL) ⁴¹I will rejoice^(JM) in doing them good^(JN) and will assuredly plant^(JO) them in this land with all my heart and soul.^(JP)

⁴²“This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity^(JQ) on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised^(JR) them. ⁴³Once more fields will be bought^(JS) in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate^(JT) waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ ⁴⁴Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds^(JU) will be signed, sealed and witnessed^(JV) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,^(JW) because I will restore^(JX) their fortunes,^[i] declares the Lord.”

Promise of Restoration

33 While Jeremiah was still confined^(JY) in the courtyard^(JZ) of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:^(KA) ²“This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth,^(KB) the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:^(KC) ³‘Call^(KD) to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable^(KE) things you do not know.’ ⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege^(KF) ramps^(KG) and the sword ⁵in the fight with the Babylonians^[j]: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath.^(KH) I will hide my face^(KI) from this city because of all its wickedness.

⁶“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal^(KJ) my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace^(KK) and security. ⁷I will bring Judah^(KL) and Israel back from captivity^[k]^(KM) and will rebuild^(KN) them as they were before.^(KO) ⁸I will cleanse^(KP) them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive^(KQ) all their sins of rebellion against me. ⁹Then this city will bring me renown,^(KR) joy, praise^(KS) and honor^(KT) before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble^(KU) at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

¹⁰“This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.”^(KV) Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted,^(KW) inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more ¹¹the sounds of joy and gladness,^(KX) the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings^(KY) to the house of the Lord, saying,

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;^(KZ)
his love endures forever.”^(LA)

For I will restore the fortunes^(LB) of the land as they were before,^(LC)’ says the Lord.

¹²“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate^(LD) and without people or animals^(LE)—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.^(LF) ¹³In the towns of the hill^(LG) country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,^(LH) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand^(LI) of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

¹⁴“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise^(LJ) I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

¹⁵“‘In those days and at that time
    I will make a righteous^(LK) Branch^(LL) sprout from David’s line;^(LM)
    he will do what is just and right in the land.
¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved^(LN)
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.^(LO)
This is the name by which it^[l] will be called:^(LP)
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’^(LQ)

¹⁷For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail^(LR) to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, ¹⁸nor will the Levitical^(LS) priests^(LT) ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.^(LU)’”

¹⁹The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰“This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day^(LV) and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,^(LW) ²¹then my covenant^(LX) with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites^(LY) who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.^(LZ) ²²I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless^(MA) as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”

²³The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴“Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms^[m]^(MB) he chose’? So they despise^(MC) my people and no longer regard them as a nation.^(MD) ²⁵This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night^(ME) and established the laws^(MF) of heaven and earth,^(MG) ²⁶then I will reject^(MH) the descendants of Jacob^(MI) and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes^[n]^(MJ) and have compassion^(MK) on them.’”

Warning to Zedekiah

34 While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples^(ML) in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem^(MM) and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah^(MN) king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.^(MO) ³You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands.^(MP) You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

⁴“‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;^(MQ) ⁵you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire^(MR) in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas,^(MS) master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, ⁷while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish^(MT) and Azekah.^(MU) These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for Slaves

⁸The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people^(MV) in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(MW) for the slaves. ⁹Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.^(MX) ¹⁰So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. ¹¹But afterward they changed their minds^(MY) and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors^(MZ) when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.^(NA) I said, ¹⁴‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’^[o]^(NB) Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention^(NC) to me. ¹⁵Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people.^(ND) You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.^(NE) ¹⁶But now you have turned around^(NF) and profaned^(NG) my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

¹⁷“Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you,^(NH) declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague^(NI) and famine.^(NJ) I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.^(NK) ¹⁸Those who have violated my covenant^(NL) and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.^(NM) ¹⁹The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials,^(NN) the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, ²⁰I will deliver^(NO) into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them.^(NP) Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.^(NQ)

²¹“I will deliver Zedekiah^(NR) king of Judah and his officials^(NS) into the hands of their enemies^(NT) who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon,^(NU) which has withdrawn^(NV) from you. ²²I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take^(NW) it and burn^(NX) it down. And I will lay waste^(NY) the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim^(NZ) son of Josiah king of Judah: ²“Go to the Rekabite^(OA) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms^(OB) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

³So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. ⁴I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.^(OC) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum^(OD) the doorkeeper.^(OE) ⁵Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

⁶But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab^[p]^(OF) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.^(OG) ⁷Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.^(OH) Then you will live a long time in the land^(OI) where you are nomads.’ ⁸We have obeyed everything our forefather^(OJ) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine ⁹or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.^(OK) ¹⁰We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. ¹¹But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded^(OL) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem^(OM) to escape the Babylonian^[q] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ¹³“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell^(ON) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson^(OO) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ¹⁴‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.^(OP) But I have spoken to you again and again,^(OQ) yet you have not obeyed^(OR) me. ¹⁵Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets^(OS) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn^(OT) from your wicked ways and reform^(OU) your actions; do not follow other gods^(OV) to serve them. Then you will live in the land^(OW) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened^(OX) to me. ¹⁶The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather^(OY) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

¹⁷“Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster^(OZ) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;^(PA) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”^(PB)

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather^(PC) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ ¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail^(PD) to have a descendant to serve^(PE) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(PF) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Take a scroll^(PG) and write on it all the words^(PH) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah^(PI) till now. ³Perhaps^(PJ) when the people of Judah hear^(PK) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn^(PL) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive^(PM) their wickedness and their sin.”

⁴So Jeremiah called Baruch^(PN) son of Neriah,^(PO) and while Jeremiah dictated^(PP) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.^(PQ) ⁵Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. ⁶So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting^(PR) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.^(PS) Read them to all the people of Judah^(PT) who come in from their towns. ⁷Perhaps they will bring their petition^(PU) before the Lord and will each turn^(PV) from their wicked ways, for the anger^(PW) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

⁸Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. ⁹In the ninth month^(PX) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting^(PY) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. ¹⁰From the room of Gemariah^(PZ) son of Shaphan^(QA) the secretary,^(QB) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate^(QC) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

¹¹When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹²he went down to the secretary’s^(QD) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan^(QE) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.^(QF) ¹³After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, ¹⁴all the officials sent Jehudi^(QG) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll^(QH) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. ¹⁵They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear^(QI) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write^(QJ) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

¹⁸“Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated^(QK) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

¹⁹Then the officials^(QL) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.^(QM) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

²⁰After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. ²¹The king sent Jehudi^(QN) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king^(QO) and all the officials standing beside him. ²²It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,^(QP) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. ²³Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,^(QQ) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.^(QR) ²⁴The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,^(QS) nor did they tear their clothes.^(QT) ²⁵Even though Elnathan, Delaiah^(QU) and Gemariah^(QV) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest^(QW) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden^(QX) them.

²⁷After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^(QY) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸“Take another scroll^(QZ) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. ²⁹Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it^(RA) both man and beast?”^(RB) ³⁰Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim^(RC) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out^(RD) and exposed^(RE) to the heat by day and the frost by night.^(RF) ³¹I will punish him and his children^(RG) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster^(RH) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.^(RI)’”

³²So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,^(RJ) Baruch wrote^(RK) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned^(RL) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Zedekiah^(RM) son of Josiah was made king^(RN) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin^[r]^(RO) son of Jehoiakim. ²Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention^(RP) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

³King Zedekiah, however, sent^(RQ) Jehukal^(RR) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah^(RS) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray^(RT) to the Lord our God for us.”

⁴Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.^(RU) ⁵Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,^(RV) and when the Babylonians^[s] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew^(RW) from Jerusalem.^(RX)

⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(RY) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched^(RZ) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.^(SA) ⁸Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture^(SB) it and burn^(SC) it down.’

⁹“This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive^(SD) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! ¹⁰Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian^[t] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn^(SE) this city down.”

¹¹After the Babylonian army had withdrawn^(SF) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property^(SG) among the people there. ¹³But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,^(SH) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”^(SI)

¹⁴“That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested^(SJ) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten^(SK) and imprisoned^(SL) in the house^(SM) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

¹⁶Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. ¹⁷Then King Zedekiah sent^(SN) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked^(SO) him privately,^(SP) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered^(SQ) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime^(SR) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹Where are your prophets^(SS) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? ²⁰But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”^(ST)

²¹King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread^(SU) in the city was gone.^(SV) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.^(SW)

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur^(SX), Jehukal^[u]^(SY) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,^(SZ) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians^[v] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’^(TA) ³And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”^(TB)

⁴Then the officials^(TC) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.^(TD) He is discouraging^(TE) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

⁵“He is in your hands,”^(TF) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing^(TG) to oppose you.”

⁶So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.^(TH) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes^(TI) into the cistern; it had no water in it,^(TJ) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.^(TK)

⁷But Ebed-Melek,^(TL) a Cushite,^[w] an official^[x]^(TM) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,^(TN) ⁸Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, ⁹“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,^(TO) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread^(TP) in the city.”

¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes^(TQ) to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹²Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, ¹³and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.^(TR)

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent^(TS) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide^(TT) anything from me.”

¹⁵Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”

¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly^(TU) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,^(TV) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”^(TW)

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender^(TX) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.^(TY) ¹⁸But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands^(TZ) of the Babylonians and they will burn^(UA) it down; you yourself will not escape^(UB) from them.’”

¹⁹King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid^(UC) of the Jews who have gone over^(UD) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”

²⁰“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey^(UE) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well^(UF) with you, and your life^(UG) will be spared. ²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: ²²All the women^(UH) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:

“‘They misled you and overcame you—
those trusted friends^(UI) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;^(UJ)
your friends have deserted you.’

Footnotes

Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master
Jeremiah 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
Jeremiah 32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams
Jeremiah 32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity
Jeremiah 33:5 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 33:7 Or will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel
Jeremiah 33:16 Or he
Jeremiah 33:24 Or families
Jeremiah 33:26 Or will bring them back from captivity
Jeremiah 34:14 Deut. 15:12
Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean
Jeremiah 37:1 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 37:5 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 9, 13 and 14
Jeremiah 37:10 Or Chaldean; also in verse 11
Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jukal, a variant of Jehukal
Jeremiah 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 18, 19 and 23
Jeremiah 38:7 Probably from the upper Nile region
Jeremiah 38:7 Or a eunuch

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

English Standard Version

Restoration for Israel and Judah

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

The New Covenant

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

The Lord Promises Peace

The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

The Obedience of the Rechabites

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

Jeremiah Imprisoned

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

New International Version

Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah Buys a Field

Promise of Restoration

Warning to Zedekiah

Freedom for Slaves

The Rekabites

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

Jeremiah in Prison

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22 English Standard Version

Restoration for Israel and Judah

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

The New Covenant

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

The Lord Promises Peace

The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

The Obedience of the Rechabites

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

Jeremiah Imprisoned

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22 New International Version

Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah Buys a Field

Promise of Restoration

Warning to Zedekiah

Freedom for Slaves

The Rekabites

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

Jeremiah in Prison

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

English Standard Version

Jeremiah 30:1-38:22

New International Version