Jeremiah’s Word to King Zedekiah

34 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,^(A) all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control,^(B) and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^(C) and he will burn it down. ³ As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;^[a](D) you will go to Babylon.

⁴ “Yet hear the Lord’s word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; ⁵ you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you.^(E) ‘Our king is dead!’^[b] will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ while the king of Babylon’s army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah’s remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah,^(F) for they were the only ones left of Judah’s fortified cities.

The People and Their Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(G) to them, ⁹ so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.^{(H) 10} All the officials and people who entered into covenant to free their male and female slaves—in order not to enslave them any longer—obeyed and freed them. ¹¹ Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had freed and forced them to become slaves again.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant^(I) with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying: ¹⁴ At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself^[c] to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you.^(J) But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention. ¹⁵ Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me^(K) at the temple called by My name.^{(L) 16} But you have changed your minds^(M) and profaned My name.^(N) Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed to go wherever they wanted, and you have again subjugated them to be your slaves.

¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you”^(O)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms. ¹⁸ As for those who disobeyed My covenant,^(P) not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.^{(Q) 19} The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf ²⁰ will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^{(R) 21} I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who want to take their lives, to the king of Babylon’s army that is withdrawing. ²² I am about to give the command”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down.^(S) I will make Judah’s cities a desolation,^(T) without inhabitant.”

The Rechabites’ Example

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim^(U) son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,^(V) and bring them to one of the chambers^(W) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴ and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,^(X) who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,^(Y) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. ⁷ You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.’^{(Z) 8} We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land,^(AA) we said: Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies. So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline^(AB) by listening to My words?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,^[d](AC) and you have not obeyed Me! ¹⁵ Time and time again^[e] I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life,^(AD) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.^(AE) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me.^{(AF) 16} Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed Me. ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.”

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to always stand before Me.’”^(AG)

The Perfect Sacrifice

10 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things^(A) to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. ² Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? ³ But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:

⁸ After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law^(C)), ⁹ He then says, See, I have come to do Your will.^[b] He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.^(D)

¹¹ Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.^{(E) 12} But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.^{(F) 13} He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool.^{(G) 14} For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. ¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after He says:

¹⁷ He adds:

¹⁸ Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Exhortations to Godliness

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus,^{(I) 20} by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh^(J)), ²¹ and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,^{(K) 22} let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.^{(L) 23} Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.^{(M) 24} And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, ²⁵ not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other,^(N) and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Warning against Deliberate Sin

²⁶ For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,^{(O) 27} but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.^{(P) 28} If anyone disregards Moses’ law, he dies without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^{(Q) 29} How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane^[d] the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace?^{(R) 30} For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay,^[e][f] and again, The Lord will judge His people.^{(S)[g] 31} It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!^(T)

³² Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.^{(U) 33} Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way.^{(V) 34} For you sympathized with the prisoners^[h] and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.^{[i](W) 35} So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.^{(X) 36} For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.^(Y)

³⁹ But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.