The Proclamation of Cyrus

1 ^(A)In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(B)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so ^(C)that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

² “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ^(D)he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—^(E)he is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

⁵ Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, ^(F)everyone whose spirit ^(G)God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. ⁶ And all who were about them ^(H)aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. ^7 (I)Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that ^(J)Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. ⁸ Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of ^(K)Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to ^(L)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹ And this was the number of them: ^(M)30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, ¹⁰ 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; ¹¹ all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Judah's Decline

36 ^(A)The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and ^(B)laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent^[a] of gold. ⁴ And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

^5 (C)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (D)Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(E)and bound him in chains ^(F)to take him to Babylon. ^7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. ^8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

^9 (I)Jehoiachin was eighteen^[b] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ In ^(J)the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, ^(K)with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother ^(L)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

^11 (M)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before ^(N)Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ^13 (O)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. ^(P)He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(Q)sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ^16 (R)But they kept mocking the messengers of God, ^(S)despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, ^(T)until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

^17 (U)Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (V)And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. ^19 (W)And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. ²⁰ He ^(X)took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, ^(Y)and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had ^(Z)enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate ^(AA)it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (AB)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(AC)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(AD)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 ^(A)The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ² which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ³ “For twenty-three years, ^(B)from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken ^(C)persistently to you, ^(D)but you have not listened. ^4 (E)You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord ^(F)persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, ⁵ saying, ^(G)‘Turn now, every one of you, ^(H)from his evil way and evil deeds, and ^(I)dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. ^6 (J)Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, ^(K)or provoke me to anger ^(L)with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ ^7 (M)Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, ^(N)that you might provoke me to anger ^(O)with the work of your hands to your own harm.

⁸ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, ^9 (P)behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(Q)my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^(R)and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. ¹⁰ Moreover, ^(S)I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^(T)the grinding of the millstones and ^(U)the light of the lamp. ^11 (V)This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and ^(W)these nations shall serve the king of Babylon ^(X)seventy years. ¹² Then after ^(Y)seventy years are completed, ^(Z)I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, ^(AA)the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, ^(AB)making the land an everlasting waste. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written ^(AC)in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ^14 (AD)For many nations ^(AE)and great kings shall make slaves even of them, ^(AF)and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of the Lord's Wrath

¹⁵ Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^(AG)“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^(AH)the sword that I am sending among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, ^(AI)and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: ^18 (AJ)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^(AK)to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; ^19 (AL)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, ²⁰ and ^(AM)all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^(AN)the land of Uz and all the kings of ^(AO)the land of the Philistines (^(AP)Ashkelon, ^(AQ)Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(AR)Ashdod); ^21 (AS)Edom, ^(AT)Moab, and the sons of ^(AU)Ammon; ²² all the kings of ^(AV)Tyre, all the kings of ^(AW)Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^(AX)the sea; ^23 (AY)Dedan, ^(AZ)Tema, ^(BA)Buz, and all who cut ^(BB)the corners of their hair; ²⁴ all the ^(BC)kings of Arabia and all the kings of ^(BD)the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(BE)Elam, and all the kings of ^(BF)Media; ²⁶ all the kings of ^(BG)the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^(BH)Babylon^[a] shall drink.

²⁷ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(BI)Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^(BJ)the sword that I am sending among you.’

²⁸ “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(BK)You must drink! ²⁹ For behold, ^(BL)I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^(BM)for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰ “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

^33 (BT)“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^(BU)They shall not be lamented, ^(BV)or gathered, or buried; ^(BW)they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

29 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^(A)the surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^(B)the priests, ^(C)the prophets, and ^(D)all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after ^(E)King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^(F)Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(G)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: ⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ^5 (H)Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(J)Do not let your prophets and ^(K)your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{[a] 9} for ^(L)it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^(M)I did not send them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: ^(N)When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^(O)I will visit you, ^(P)and I will fulfill to you my promise ^(Q)and bring you back to this place. ^11 (R)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, ^(S)to give you a future and a hope. ^12 (T)Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^(U)and I will hear you. ^13 (V)You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^(W)with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^(X)and I will restore your fortunes and ^(Y)gather you from all the nations and all the places ^(Z)where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ ¹⁶ thus says the Lord concerning ^(AA)the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: ¹⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^(AB)sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^(AC)vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with ^(AD)sword, famine, and pestilence, ^(AE)and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^(AF)to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^(AG)where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^(AH)that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ ²⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^(AI)whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ²¹ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^(AJ)who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. ^22 (AK)Because of them ^(AL)this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^(AM)whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³ because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^(AN)they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and ^(AO)they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^(AP)I am the one who knows, ^(AQ)and I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah's False Prophecy

²⁴ To ^(AR)Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: ²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(AS)Zephaniah the son of ^(AT)Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^(AU)charge in the house of the Lord ^(AV)over every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^(AW)the stocks and neck irons. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^(AX)of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^(AY)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

^29 (AZ)Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30 (BA)Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(BB)Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^(BC)Shemaiah had prophesied to you ^(BD)when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^(BE)Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^(BF)and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^(BG)for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

Israel the Lord's Chosen

Besides Me There Is No God

The Folly of Idolatry

^9 (N)All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. ^10 (O)Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? ^11 (P)Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

^12 (Q)The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.^[b] He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. ^(R)He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ^14 (S)He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵ Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. ^(T)He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸ They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an ^(U)abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” ^20 (V)He feeds on ^(W)ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not ^(X)a lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel