¹³ And he also ^(A)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he ^(B)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(C)

^15 (D)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But ^(E)they mocked the messengers of God, ^(F)despised His words, and ^(G)scoffed at His prophets, until the ^(H)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah^(A)

25 Now it came to pass ^(B)in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around.

Symbol of the Cooking Pot^(A)

24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem ^(B)this very day. ^3 (C)And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

⁹ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

The Prophet’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall ^(Q)neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh in silence, ^(R)make no mourning for the dead; ^(S)bind your turban on your head, and ^(T)put your sandals on your feet; ^(U)do not cover your ^[f]lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, ^(V)“Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

²⁰ Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, ^(W)I will profane My sanctuary, ^[g]your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the ^[h]delight of your soul; ^(X)and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And you shall do as I have done; ^(Y)you shall not cover your ^[i]lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. ²³ Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; ^(Z)you shall neither mourn nor weep, but ^(AA)you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. ²⁴ Thus ^(AB)Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; ^(AC)and when this comes, ^(AD)you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

²⁵ ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them ^(AE)their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and ^[j]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: ²⁶ that on that day ^(AF)one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? ^27 (AG)On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Proclamation Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(AH)set your face ^(AI)against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. ³ Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: ^(AJ)“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ⁴ indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the ^[k]men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ And I will make ^(AK)Rabbah ^(AL)a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. ^(AM)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁶ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you ^(AN)clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and ^(AO)rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, ⁷ indeed, therefore, I will ^(AP)stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Moab

⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(AQ)Moab and ^(AR)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and ^(AS)Kirjathaim. ^10 (AT)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites ^(AU)may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Edom

¹² ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AV)“Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; ^[l]Dedan shall fall by the sword. ^14 (AW)I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

Proclamation Against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AX)“Because ^(AY)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with ^[m]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the ^[n]old hatred,” ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AZ)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^(BA)Cherethites ^(BB)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will ^(BC)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; ^(BD)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

Jerusalem’s Doom Is Sealed

21 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and ^(C)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, ^2 (D)“Please inquire of the Lord for us, for ^[a]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the ^[b]Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and ^(E)I will assemble them in the midst of this city. ⁵ I ^(F)Myself will fight against you with an ^(G)outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath. ⁶ I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷ And afterward,” says the Lord, ^(H)“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. ^(I)He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy.” ’

⁸ “Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, ^(J)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who ^(K)remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and ^[c]defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall ^(L)live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. ¹⁰ For I have ^(M)set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. ^(N)“It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall ^(O)burn it with fire.” ’

Message to the House of David

¹¹ “And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹² O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

⁴ Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. ⁵ Then ^(A)Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

³ And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(A)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(B)“Pray now to the Lord our God for us.”

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, ^(A)who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. ^8 (B)And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’ ⁹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart. ^10 (C)For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”