Death in Captivity Predicted for Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples under his dominion were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities:^{(A) 2} Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to King Zedekiah of Judah and say to him: Thus says the Lord: I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.^{(B) 3} And you yourself shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and handed over to him; you shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face, and you shall go to Babylon. ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O King Zedekiah of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: You shall not die by the sword; ⁵ you shall die in peace. And as spices were burned^[a] for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they shall burn spices^[b] for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have spoken the word, says the Lord.^(C)

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

Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

⁸ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them,^{(E) 9} that all should set free their Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should hold another Judean in slavery.^{(F) 10} And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that all would set free their slaves, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again; they obeyed and set them free. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free and brought them again into subjection as slaves. ¹² The 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 ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying,^{(G) 14} “Every seventh year each of you must set free any Hebrews who have been sold to you and have served you six years; you must set them free from your service.” But your ancestors did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.^{(H) 15} You yourselves recently repented and did what was right in my sight by proclaiming liberty to one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,^{(I) 16} but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back your male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them again into subjection to be your slaves.^{(J) 17} Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by granting a release to your neighbors and friends; I am going to grant a release to you, says the Lord—a release to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.^{(K) 18} And those who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make like^[c] the calf when they cut it in two and passed between its parts:^{(L) 19} the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf ²⁰ shall be handed over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives. Their corpses shall become food for the birds of the air and the wild animals of the earth.^{(M) 21} And as for King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials, I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you.^{(N) 22} I am going to command, says the Lord, and will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. The towns of Judah I will make a desolation without inhabitant.^(O)

The Rechabites Commended

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:^{(P) 2} Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.^{(Q) 3} So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. ⁴ I brought them to the house of the Lord into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.^{(R) 5} Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups, and I said to them, “Have some wine.”^{(S) 6} But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘You shall never drink wine, neither you nor your children,^{(T) 7} nor shall you ever build a house or sow seed, nor shall you plant a vineyard or even own one, but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you reside.’^{(U) 8} We have obeyed the charge of our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,^{(V) 9} and not to build houses to live in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, ¹⁰ but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ But when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”^(W)

¹² Then 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, Can you not learn a lesson and obey my words? says the Lord.^{(X) 14} The command has been carried out that Jonadab son of Rechab gave to his descendants to drink no wine, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I myself have spoken to you persistently, and you have not obeyed me.^{(Y) 15} I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, “Turn now every one of you from your evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not incline your ear or obey me.^{(Z) 16} The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.^{(AA) 17} Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.^(AB)

¹⁸ But 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 your ancestor Jonadab and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab son of Rechab shall not lack a descendant to stand before me for all time.^(AC)

The Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:^{(AD) 2} Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today.^{(AE) 3} It may be that, when the house of Judah hears of all the disasters that I intend to do to them, all of them may turn from their evil ways, so that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.^(AF)

⁴ Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words that the Lord had spoken to him.^{(AG) 5} And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am prevented from entering the house of the Lord,^{(AH) 6} so you go, and on a fast day in the hearing of 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 people of Judah who come up from their towns. ⁷ It may be that their plea will come before the Lord and that all of them will turn from their evil ways, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”^{(AI) 8} And Baruch son of Neriah did all that the prophet Jeremiah ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ In the fifth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.^{(AJ) 10} Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.^(AK)

The Scroll Read in the Palace

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll,^{(AL) 12} he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the officials.^{(AM) 13} And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people.^{(AN) 14} Then all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.^{(AO) 15} And they said to him, “Sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them.^{(AP) 16} When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We certainly must report all these words to the king.”^{(AQ) 17} Then they questioned Baruch, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” ¹⁸ Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”^(AR)

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

²⁰ Leaving the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, they went to the court of the king, and they reported all the words in the hearing of the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who stood beside the king.^{(AS) 22} Now the king was sitting in his winter apartment (it was the ninth month), and there was a fire burning in the brazier before him.^{(AT) 23} As Jehudi read three or four columns, he would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was alarmed, nor did they tear their garments.^{(AU) 25} Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.^{(AV) 26} And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the secretary Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But the Lord hid them.^(AW)

Jeremiah Dictates Another

²⁷ Now 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:^{(AX) 28} Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned.^{(AY) 29} And concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah you shall say: Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and will cut off from it human beings and animals?”^{(AZ) 30} Therefore thus says the Lord concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He shall have no one to sit upon the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night.^{(BA) 31} And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity; I will bring on them and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and on the people of Judah all the disasters with which I have threatened them, but they would not listen.^(BB)

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the secretary Baruch son of Neriah, who wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire, and many similar words were added to them.

Warning to Pay Attention

2 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For if the message declared through angels proved valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,^{(A) 3} how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was confirmed for us by those who heard him,^{(B) 4} while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.^(C)

Exaltation through Abasement

⁵ Now God^[a] did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.^{(D) 6} But someone has testified somewhere,

Now in subjecting all things to them, God^[f] left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,^{(F) 9} but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower^[g] than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God^[h] he might taste death for everyone.^(G)

¹⁰ It was fitting that God,^[i] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.^{(H) 11} For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.^[j] For this reason Jesus^[k] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^{(I) 12} saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,^{(L) 15} and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.^{(M) 16} For it is clear that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.^{(N) 18} Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.^(O)