Jeremiah 21
Legacy Standard Bible
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when (A)King Zedekiah sent to him (B)Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and (C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please (D)inquire of Yahweh on our behalf, for [a](E)Nebuchadnezzar king of (F)Babylon is warring against us; perhaps Yahweh will deal with us (G)according to all His [b]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will go up from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to (H)turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will (I)gather them into the center of this city. 5 I (J)Myself will war against you with an (K)outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in (L)anger and wrath and great indignation. 6 I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great (M)pestilence. 7 Then afterwards,” declares Yahweh, “(N)I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who remain in this city from the pestilence, the sword, and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He (O)will not show pity on them nor spare nor have compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I (P)set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who (Q)inhabits this city will die by the (R)sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as spoil. 10 For I have (S)set My face against this city for [c]evil and not for good,” declares Yahweh. “It will be (T)given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will (U)burn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the (V)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O (W)house of David, thus says Yahweh:
“(X)Render justice [d]every (Y)morning;
And deliver the person who has been robbed from the [e]power of his oppressor,
(Z)Lest My wrath go forth like fire
And (AA)burn with none to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, (AB)I am against you, O (AC)inhabitant of the valley,
O [f]rocky plain,” declares Yahweh,
“You men who say, ‘(AD)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter into our dwelling places?’
14 But I will punish you (AE)according to the [g]results of your deeds,” declares Yahweh,
“And I will (AF)kindle a fire in its forest
That it may devour all its surroundings.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Heb Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar in Jer and Ezek
- Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
- Jeremiah 21:10 Or calamity
- Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
- Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
- Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 21
Lexham English Bible
A Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,[a] 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may go up from against us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,[b] with which you are fighting against them, the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand, and with strong arm, and in anger,[c] and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die. 7 And afterward,”[d] declares[e] Yahweh, “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the edge[f] of the sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion.”’
The Way of Life and the Way of Death
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am setting before you[g] the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city will die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the plague. And he who goes out and goes over to the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you will live, and his life will be to him as booty. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good,” declares[h] Yahweh. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’
A Series of Messages for the House of the King of Judah
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O house of David, thus says Yahweh,
“Execute judgment in the morning, justice,
and deliver the one who has been seized
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and it burns,
and there is no one who quenches it[i]
because of the evil of your deeds.
13 Look, I am against you,
O inhabitants[j] of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” declares[k] Yahweh;
“you who say, ‘Who can descend against us,
or who can enter into our hiding place?’
14 And I will punish you
according to the fruit of your deeds,” declares[l] Yahweh,
“And I will kindle a fire in its forest,
and it will devour all its surroundings.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 21:4 Hebrew “hand”
- Jeremiah 21:5 Literally “nose”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “after thus”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “mouth”
- Jeremiah 21:8 Literally “to the face of you”
- Jeremiah 21:10 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 21:13 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Jeremiah 21:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:14 Literally “a declaration of”
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