¹⁹ Tamar put ashes^(A) on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.

⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(A) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched^(B) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.^{(C) 8} Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture^(D) it and burn^(E) it down.’

⁹ “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive^(F) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! ¹⁰ Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian^[a] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn^(G) this city down.”

¹⁵ But the king rebelled^(A) against him by sending his envoys to Egypt^(B) to get horses and a large army.^(C) Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?^(D)

¹⁶ “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die^(E) in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke.^{(F) 17} Pharaoh^(G) with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps^(H) are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.^{(I) 18} He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge^(J) and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

¹⁹ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.^{(K) 20} I will spread my net^(L) for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment^(M) on him there because he was unfaithful^(N) to me.

⁵ He will take^(A) Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,^(B) declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”^(C)

⁵ This is what the Lord says:

¹² God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you.^(A) People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord,^(B) the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”^(C)