Jeremiah 21
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.”
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
Yirmeyah 21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
21 The Davar which came unto Yirmeyah from Hashem, when HaMelech Tzidkiyah sent unto him Pashchur Ben Malkiyah, and Tzephanyah Ben Ma’aseiyah the kohen, saying,
2 Inquire, now, of Hashem for us; for Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel maketh war against us; if it be so that Hashem will deal with us according to all His nifle’ot (wondrous deeds), that he may withdraw from us.
3 Then said Yirmeyah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Tzidkiyah;
4 Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; Hineni, I will turn back against you the weapons of milchamah (war) that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against Melech Bavel, and against the Kasdim (Chaldeans), which besiege you outside the chomah (wall), and I will assemble them inside this city.
5 And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched yad (hand) and with a zero’a chazakah (strong arm), even in anger, and in chemah, and in ketzef gadol (great wrath).
6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both ha’adam and habehemah; they shall die of dever gadol (great plague).
7 And afterward, saith Hashem, I will deliver Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah, and his avadim, and HaAm, and such as are survivors in this city from dever, from the cherev, and from the ra’av (famine), into the yad Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel, and into the yad of their oyevim (enemies), and into the yad of those that seek their nefesh; and he shall strike them down with the edge of the cherev; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have rachamim.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith Hashem; Hineni, I set before you the Derech HaChayyim and the Derech HaMavet.
9 He that abideth in this city shall die by cherev, and by ra’av (famine), and by dever (plague); but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Kasdim (Chaldeans) that besiege you, he shall live, and his nefesh shall be unto him as plunder.
10 For I have set my face against this city for ra’ah, and not for tovah, saith Hashem; it shall be given into the yad Melech Bavel, and he shall set eish to it to burn it down.
11 And touching the Bais Melech Yehudah, say, Hear ye the Devar Hashem;
12 O Bais Dovid, thus saith Hashem; Execute mishpat in the boker, and save him that is robbed out of the yad oshek (hand of the oppressor), lest My chemah (fury) go out like eish, and burn that none can quench it, because of the wickedness of your deeds.
13 Hineni, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the emek (valley), and tzur (rock) of the plain, saith Hashem; which say, Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our me’onot (dwelling places, homes)?
14 But I will visit you in punishment according to the p’ri (fruit) of your deeds, saith Hashem; and I will kindle an eish in the ya’ar (forest) thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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