⁶ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.

⁶ But did not my words^(A) and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?^(B)

“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve,^(C) just as he determined to do.’”^(D)

⁴⁷ Say to the southern forest:^(A) ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume^(B) all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north^(C) will be scorched by it.^{(D) 48} Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.^(E)’”

³ Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle^(A) with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon.^(B) Taking hold of the top of a cedar, ⁴ he broke off^(C) its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

⁵ “‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,^{(D) 6} and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches^(E) turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.^(F)

⁷ “‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.^{(G) 8} It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches,^(H) bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’

⁹ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.^{(I) 10} It has been planted,^(J) but will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it—wither away in the plot where it grew?^(K)’”

² “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine^(A) different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest?

²¹ “Did not the Lord remember^(A) and call to mind the incense^(B) burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem^(C) by you and your ancestors,^(D) your kings and your officials and the people of the land?^{(E) 22} When the Lord could no longer endure^(F) your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse^(G) and a desolate waste^(H) without inhabitants, as it is today.^{(I) 23} Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed^(J) his law or his decrees^(K) or his stipulations, this disaster^(L) has come upon you, as you now see.”^(M)

²⁴ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women,^(N) “Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah in Egypt.^{(O) 25} This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives^(P) have done what you said you would do when you promised, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.’^(Q)

“Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!^{(R) 26} But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt:^(S) ‘I swear^(T) by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign^(U) Lord lives.”^{(V) 27} For I am watching^(W) over them for harm,^(X) not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish^(Y) by sword and famine^(Z) until they are all destroyed.^(AA)

¹⁸ Jerusalem^(A) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin^(B) and an object of horror and scorn,^(C) a curse^[a](D)—as they are today;^(E)

⁹ I will summon^(A) all the peoples of the north^(B) and my servant^(C) Nebuchadnezzar^(D) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[a](E) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^(F) and an everlasting ruin.^{(G) 10} I will banish from them the sounds^(H) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^(I) the sound of millstones^(J) and the light of the lamp.^{(K) 11} This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^(L) and these nations will serve^(M) the king of Babylon seventy years.^(N)

⁸ “‘But like the bad^(A) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah^(B) king of Judah, his officials^(C) and the survivors^(D) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.^{(E) 9} I will make them abhorrent^(F) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,^(G) a curse^[a](H) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish^(I) them. ¹⁰ I will send the sword,^(J) famine^(K) and plague^(L) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.^(M)’”