Jeremiah: ³ Tell King Zedekiah that ⁴ this is what the Eternal, the God of Israel, has to say: “I will indeed rise up and turn back the weapons of war you hold in your hands, the very weapons you plan to use against the approaching enemy—the king of Babylon and his army from Chaldea that now surrounds your city walls. I will bring that enemy inside your walls, into the city itself. ⁵ With My strong hand and powerful arm I will rise up and fight against you, fueled by My great wrath, anger, and fury. Do you think I will fight beside you? You misunderstand. ⁶ I will strike those who live in this city with a plague: both man and beast will die. ⁷ After that,” says the Eternal, “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his advisors, and the citizens of Jerusalem who survive the plague, the war, and the famine to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, their enemy, and those who seek their lives. In that dreadful day, he will slaughter them without mercy. He^[a] will neither pity nor have compassion for them.