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Jeremiah 21:1-23:8
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 21:1-23:8
English Standard Version
Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him (A)Pashhur the son of Malchiah and (B)Zephaniah the priest, the son of (C)Maaseiah, saying, 2 (D)“Inquire of the Lord for us, (E)for Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to (F)all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (G)Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. (H)And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you (I)with outstretched hand and strong arm, (J)in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, (K)I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. (L)He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’
8 “And to this people you shall say: (M)‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, (N)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die (O)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and (P)surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live (Q)and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For (R)I have set my face against this city for harm and (S)not for good, declares the Lord: (T)it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’
Message to the House of David
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:
(U)“‘Execute justice (V)in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
(W)lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 (X)“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,
declares the Lord;
you who say, (Y)‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 (Z)I will punish you according to (AA)the fruit of your deeds,
declares the Lord;
(AB)I will kindle a fire in her forest,
(AC)and it shall devour all that is around her.”
22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, (AD)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: (AE)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And (AF)do no wrong or violence (AG)to the resident alien, (AH)the fatherless, and the widow, nor (AI)shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, (AJ)then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I (AK)swear by myself, declares the Lord, that (AL)this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“‘You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of (AM)Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
(AN)an uninhabited city.[b]
7 (AO)I will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
(AP)and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, (AQ)“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 (AR)And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”
10 (AS)Weep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
(AT)but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and (AU)who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but (AV)in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”
13 (AW)“Woe to him who builds his house by (AX)unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
(AY)who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and (AZ)painting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and (BA)do justice and righteousness?
(BB)Then it was well with him.
16 (BC)He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
(BD)then it was well.
Is not this (BE)to know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
(BF)for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
(BG)“They shall not lament for him, saying,
(BH)‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
(BI)‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’
19 With the burial of a donkey (BJ)he shall be buried,
dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from (BK)Abarim,
for all (BL)your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I will not listen.’
(BM)This has been your way from (BN)your youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22 (BO)The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and (BP)your lovers shall go into captivity;
(BQ)then you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23 O inhabitant of (BR)Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
(BS)pain as of a woman in labor!”
24 (BT)“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were (BU)the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25 and (BV)give you (BW)into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 (BX)I will hurl you and (BY)the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”
28 Is this man (BZ)Coniah a despised, broken pot,
a (CA)vessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a (CB)land that they do not know?
29 (CC)O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
“Write this man down as (CD)childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
(CE)for none of his offspring shall succeed
(CF)in sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”
The Righteous Branch
23 (CG)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning (CH)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. (CI)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 (CJ)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock (CK)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, (CL)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 (CM)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
5 (CN)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous (CO)Branch, and (CP)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and (CQ)Israel will (CR)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: (CS)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
7 (CT)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he[c] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, an alternate spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) occurring frequently from Jeremiah 21–52; this latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency
- Jeremiah 22:6 Hebrew cities
- Jeremiah 23:8 Septuagint; Hebrew I
Jeremiah 21:1-23:8
New International Version
Jeremiah 21:1-23:8
New International Version
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(A) sent to him Pashhur(B) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(C) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(D) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[a](E) king of Babylon(F) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(G) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(H) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[b] who are outside the wall besieging(I) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(J) against you with an outstretched hand(K) and a mighty arm(L) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(M) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(N) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(O) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(P) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(Q) and to their enemies(R) who want to kill them.(S) He will put them to the sword;(T) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(U)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(V) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(W) But whoever goes out and surrenders(X) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(Y) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(Z) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(AA) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(AB)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(AC) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(AD) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(AE)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(AF)
because of the evil(AG) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(AH) it.
13 I am against(AI) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(AJ)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(AK)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(AL) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(AM) in your forests(AN)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(AO) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(AP) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(AQ)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(AR) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(AS) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(AT) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(AU) and do not shed innocent blood(AV) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(AW) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(AX) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(AY) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(AZ) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(BA)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(BB)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(BC) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(BD) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(BE)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(BF) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(BG)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(BH) king or mourn(BI) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(BJ)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[c](BK) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(BL) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(BM) to him who builds(BN) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(BO) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(BP)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(BQ)
and decorates it in red.(BR)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(BS)
so all went well(BT) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(BU)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(BV) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(BW)
on shedding innocent blood(BX)
and on oppression and extortion.”(BY)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(BZ) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(CA) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(CB)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(CC)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(CD)
cry out from Abarim,(CE)
for all your allies(CF) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(CG)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(CH)
you have not obeyed(CI) me.
22 The wind(CJ) will drive all your shepherds(CK) away,
and your allies(CL) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(CM)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[d](CN)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(CO) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[e](CP) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(CQ) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(CR) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[f] 26 I will hurl(CS) you and the mother(CT) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(CU) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(CV) a despised, broken pot,(CW)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(CX) out,
cast into a land(CY) they do not know?
29 O land,(CZ) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(DA)
a man who will not prosper(DB) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(DC) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(DD) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds(DE) who are destroying and scattering(DF) the sheep of my pasture!”(DG) declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(DH) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(DI) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(DJ) you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant(DK) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(DL) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds(DM) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(DN) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(DO)” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[g] a righteous Branch,(DP)
a King(DQ) who will reign(DR) wisely
and do what is just and right(DS) in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.(DT)
This is the name(DU) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(DV)
7 “So then, the days are coming,”(DW) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(DX) 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(DY)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.