Jeremiah 21-30

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.”

³But 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. ⁵I myself will fight^(J) against you with an outstretched hand^(K) and a mighty arm^(L) in furious anger and in great wrath. ⁶I will strike^(M) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.^(N) ⁷After 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. ⁹Whoever 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) ¹⁰I 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. ¹²This 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.
¹³I 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)
¹⁴I 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) ³This 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. ⁴For 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. ⁵But if you do not obey^(AX) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear^(AY) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

⁶For 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.
⁷I 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) ⁹And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.^(BG)’”

¹⁰Do 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.

¹¹For 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. ¹²He 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.
¹⁴He 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.
¹⁶He 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)

¹⁸Therefore 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!’
¹⁹He 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.
²¹I 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.
²²The 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.
²³You 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. ²⁵I 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] ²⁶I 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. ²⁷You will never come back to the land you long to return^(CU) to.”

²⁸Is 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?
²⁹O land,^(CZ) land, land,
    hear the word of the Lord!
³⁰This 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. ²Therefore 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. ⁴I 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.
⁶In 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) ⁸but 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)

Lying Prophets

⁹Concerning the prophets:

My heart^(DZ) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.^(EA)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.^(EB)
¹⁰The land is full of adulterers;^(EC)
    because of the curse^[h]^(ED) the land lies parched
    and the pastures^(EE) in the wilderness are withered.^(EF)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

¹¹“Both prophet and priest are godless;^(EG)
    even in my temple^(EH) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore their path will become slippery;^(EI)
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,^(EJ)”
declares the Lord.

¹³“Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal^(EK)
    and led my people Israel astray.^(EL)
¹⁴And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:^(EM)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.^(EN)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,^(EO)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.^(EP)
They are all like Sodom^(EQ) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”^(ER)

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,^(ES)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^(ET) has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen^(EU) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions^(EV) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth^(EW) of the Lord.
¹⁷They keep saying^(EX) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’^(EY)
And to all who follow the stubbornness^(EZ) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm^(FA) will come to you.’
¹⁸But which of them has stood in the council^(FB) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹See, the storm^(FC) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind^(FD) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰The anger^(FE) of the Lord will not turn back^(FF)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹I did not send^(FG) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
²²But if they had stood in my council,^(FH)
    they would have proclaimed^(FI) my words to my people
and would have turned^(FJ) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.^(FK)

²³“Am I only a God nearby,^(FL)”
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
²⁴Who can hide^(FM) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”^(FN)
declares the Lord.

²⁵“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies^(FO) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!^(FP) I had a dream!’ ²⁶How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions^(FQ) of their own minds?^(FR) ²⁷They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget^(FS) my name, just as their ancestors forgot^(FT) my name through Baal worship.^(FU) ²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream^(FV) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word^(FW) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹“Is not my word like fire,”^(FX) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer^(FY) that breaks a rock in pieces?

³⁰“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against^(FZ) the prophets^(GA) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. ³¹Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’^(GB) ³²Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,^(GC)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray^(GD) with their reckless lies,^(GE) yet I did not send^(GF) or appoint them. They do not benefit^(GG) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

False Prophecy

³³“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message^(GH) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake^(GI) you, declares the Lord.’ ³⁴If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message^(GJ) from the Lord,’ I will punish^(GK) them and their household. ³⁵This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’^(GL) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort^(GM) the words of the living God,^(GN) the Lord Almighty, our God. ³⁷This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ ³⁹Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast^(GO) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. ⁴⁰I will bring on you everlasting disgrace^(GP)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

Two Baskets of Figs

24 After Jehoiachin^[i]^(GQ) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs^(GR) placed in front of the temple of the Lord. ²One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;^(GS) the other basket had very bad^(GT) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

³Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,^(GU) Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁵“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent^(GV) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^[j] ⁶My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back^(GW) to this land. I will build^(GX) them up and not tear them down; I will plant^(GY) them and not uproot them. ⁷I will give them a heart to know^(GZ) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,^(HA) and I will be their God, for they will return^(HB) to me with all their heart.^(HC)

⁸“‘But like the bad^(HD) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah^(HE) king of Judah, his officials^(HF) and the survivors^(HG) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.^(HH) ⁹I will make them abhorrent^(HI) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,^(HJ) a curse^[k]^(HK) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish^(HL) them. ¹⁰I will send the sword,^(HM) famine^(HN) and plague^(HO) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.^(HP)’”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(HQ) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar^(HR) king of Babylon. ²So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^(HS) and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah^(HT) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,^(HU) but you have not listened.^(HV)

⁴And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets^(HW) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.^(HX) ⁵They said, “Turn^(HY) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land^(HZ) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶Do not follow other gods^(IA) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused^(IB) my anger with what your hands have made,^(IC) and you have brought harm^(ID) to yourselves.”

⁸Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹I will summon^(IE) all the peoples of the north^(IF) and my servant^(IG) Nebuchadnezzar^(IH) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[l]^(II) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^(IJ) and an everlasting ruin.^(IK) ¹⁰I will banish from them the sounds^(IL) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^(IM) the sound of millstones^(IN) and the light of the lamp.^(IO) ¹¹This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^(IP) and these nations will serve^(IQ) the king of Babylon seventy years.^(IR)

¹²“But when the seventy years^(IS) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon^(IT) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,^[m] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate^(IU) forever. ¹³I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written^(IV) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴They themselves will be enslaved^(IW) by many nations^(IX) and great kings; I will repay^(IY) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup^(IZ) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send^(JA) you drink it. ¹⁶When they drink^(JB) it, they will stagger^(JC) and go mad^(JD) because of the sword^(JE) I will send among them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent^(JF) me drink it: ¹⁸Jerusalem^(JG) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin^(JH) and an object of horror and scorn,^(JI) a curse^[n]^(JJ)—as they are today;^(JK) ¹⁹Pharaoh king^(JL) of Egypt,^(JM) his attendants, his officials and all his people, ²⁰and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;^(JN) all the kings of the Philistines^(JO) (those of Ashkelon,^(JP) Gaza,^(JQ) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); ²¹Edom,^(JR) Moab^(JS) and Ammon;^(JT) ²²all the kings of Tyre^(JU) and Sidon;^(JV) the kings of the coastlands^(JW) across the sea; ²³Dedan,^(JX) Tema,^(JY) Buz^(JZ) and all who are in distant places^[o];^(KA) ²⁴all the kings of Arabia^(KB) and all the kings of the foreign people^(KC) who live in the wilderness; ²⁵all the kings of Zimri,^(KD) Elam^(KE) and Media;^(KF) ²⁶and all the kings of the north,^(KG) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms^(KH) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak^[p]^(KI) will drink it too.

²⁷“Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk^(KJ) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword^(KK) I will send among you.’ ²⁸But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink^(KL), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! ²⁹See, I am beginning to bring disaster^(KM) on the city that bears my Name,^(KN) and will you indeed go unpunished?^(KO) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword^(KP) on all^(KQ) who live on the earth,^(KR) declares the Lord Almighty.’

³⁰“Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“‘The Lord will roar^(KS) from on high;
    he will thunder^(KT) from his holy dwelling^(KU)
    and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread^(KV) the grapes,
    shout against all who live on the earth.
³¹The tumult^(KW) will resound to the ends of the earth,
    for the Lord will bring charges^(KX) against the nations;
he will bring judgment^(KY) on all^(KZ) mankind
    and put the wicked to the sword,^(LA)’”
declares the Lord.

³²This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster^(LB) is spreading
from nation to nation;^(LC)
a mighty storm^(LD) is rising
from the ends of the earth.”^(LE)

³³At that time those slain^(LF) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered^(LG) up or buried,^(LH) but will be like dung lying on the ground.

³⁴Weep and wail, you shepherds;^(LI)
    roll^(LJ) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered^(LK) has come;
    you will fall like the best of the rams.^[q]^(LL)
³⁵The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
    the leaders of the flock no place to escape.^(LM)
³⁶Hear the cry^(LN) of the shepherds,^(LO)
    the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
    for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
³⁷The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
    because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸Like a lion^(LP) he will leave his lair,
    and their land will become desolate^(LQ)
because of the sword^[r] of the oppressor^(LR)
    and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.^(LS)

Jeremiah Threatened With Death

26 Early in the reign of Jehoiakim^(LT) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard^(LU) of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord.^(LV) Tell^(LW) them everything I command you; do not omit^(LX) a word. ³Perhaps they will listen and each will turn^(LY) from their evil ways. Then I will relent^(LZ) and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. ⁴Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen^(MA) to me and follow my law,^(MB) which I have set before you, ⁵and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened^(MC)), ⁶then I will make this house like Shiloh^(MD) and this city a curse^[s]^(ME) among all the nations of the earth.’”

⁷The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded^(MF) him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized^(MG) him and said, “You must die!^(MH) ⁹Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?”^(MI) And all the people crowded^(MJ) around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the officials^(MK) of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate^(ML) of the Lord’s house. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death^(MM) because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”^(MN)

¹²Then Jeremiah said to all the officials^(MO) and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy^(MP) against this house and this city all the things you have heard.^(MQ) ¹³Now reform^(MR) your ways and your actions and obey^(MS) the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent^(MT) and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, I am in your hands;^(MU) do with me whatever you think is good and right. ¹⁵Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood^(MV) on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words^(MW) in your hearing.”

¹⁶Then the officials^(MX) and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death!^(MY) He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, ¹⁸“Micah^(MZ) of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“‘Zion^(NA) will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,^(NB)
the temple hill^(NC) a mound overgrown with thickets.’^[t]^(ND)

¹⁹“Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah^(NE) fear the Lord and seek^(NF) his favor? And did not the Lord relent,^(NG) so that he did not bring the disaster^(NH) he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster^(NI) on ourselves!”

²⁰(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim^(NJ) was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. ²¹When King Jehoiakim^(NK) and all his officers and officials^(NL) heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death.^(NM) But Uriah heard of it and fled^(NN) in fear to Egypt. ²²King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan^(NO) son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. ²³They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword^(NP) and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)^(NQ)

²⁴Furthermore, Ahikam^(NR) son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah^[u]^(NS) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke^(NT) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. ³Then send^(NU) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,^(NV) Tyre and Sidon^(NW) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: ⁵With my great power and outstretched arm^(NX) I made^(NY) the earth and its people and the animals^(NZ) that are on it, and I give^(OA) it to anyone I please. ⁶Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant^(OB) Nebuchadnezzar^(OC) king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.^(OD) ⁷All nations will serve^(OE) him and his son and his grandson until the time^(OF) for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate^(OG) him.

⁸“‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish^(OH) that nation with the sword,^(OI) famine^(OJ) and plague,^(OK) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. ⁹So do not listen to your prophets,^(OL) your diviners,^(OM) your interpreters of dreams,^(ON) your mediums^(OO) or your sorcerers^(OP) who tell you, ‘You will not serve^(OQ) the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰They prophesy lies^(OR) to you that will only serve to remove^(OS) you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. ¹¹But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke^(OT) of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live^(OU) there, declares the Lord.”’”

¹²I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^(OV) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^(OW) ¹³Why will you and your people die^(OX) by the sword, famine and plague^(OY) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Do not listen^(OZ) to the words of the prophets^(PA) who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies^(PB) to you. ¹⁵‘I have not sent^(PC) them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.^(PD) Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,^(PE) both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

¹⁶Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles^(PF) from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷Do not listen^(PG) to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.^(PH) Why should this city become a ruin? ¹⁸If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead^(PI) with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. ¹⁹For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,^(PJ) the movable stands and the other articles^(PK) that are left in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried^(PL) Jehoiachin^[v]^(PM) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²²‘They will be taken^(PN) to Babylon and there they will remain until the day^(PO) I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring^(PP) them back and restore them to this place.’”

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah^(PQ) king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon,^(PR) said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: ²“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke^(PS) of the king of Babylon. ³Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles^(PT) of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. ⁴I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin^[w]^(PU) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”^(PV)

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.^(PW) ⁷Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague^(PX) against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.^(PY)”

¹⁰Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke^(PZ) off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, ¹¹and he said^(QA) before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

¹²After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. ¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke^(QB) on the necks of all these nations to make them serve^(QC) Nebuchadnezzar^(QD) king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.^(QE)’”

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent^(QF) you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.^(QG) ¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.^(QH) This very year you are going to die,^(QI) because you have preached rebellion^(QJ) against the Lord.’”

¹⁷In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.^(QK)

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(QL) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^(QM) ²(This was after King Jehoiachin^[x]^(QN) and the queen mother,^(QO) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) ³He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(QP) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵“Build^(QQ) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.^(QR) ⁷Also, seek^(QS) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(QT) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets^(QU) and diviners among you deceive^(QV) you. Do not listen to the dreams^(QW) you encourage them to have.^(QX) ⁹They are prophesying lies^(QY) to you in my name. I have not sent^(QZ) them,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years^(RA) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you^(RB) and fulfill my good promise^(RC) to bring you back^(RD) to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans^(RE) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper^(RF) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.^(RG) ¹²Then you will call^(RH) on me and come and pray^(RI) to me, and I will listen^(RJ) to you. ¹³You will seek^(RK) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.^(RL) ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back^(RM) from captivity.^[y] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”^(RN)

¹⁵You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— ¹⁷yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague^(RO) against them and I will make them like figs^(RP) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent^(RQ) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse^[z]^(RR) and an object of horror,^(RS) of scorn^(RT) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,”^(RU) declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again^(RV) by my servants the prophets.^(RW) And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent^(RX) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies^(RY) to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. ²²Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned^(RZ) in the fire.’ ²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery^(SA) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know^(SB) it and am a witness^(SC) to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(SD) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac^(SE) who acts like a prophet into the stocks^(SF) and neck-irons. ²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has sent this message^(SG) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.^(SH) Therefore build^(SI) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹Zephaniah^(SJ) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah^(SK) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send^(SL) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, ³²this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.^(SM) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good^(SN) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion^(SO) against me.’”

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write^(SP) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³The days^(SQ) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring^(SR) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity^[aa] and restore^(SS) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

⁴These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear^(ST) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
⁶Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,^(SU)
    every face turned deathly pale?^(SV)
⁷How awful that day^(SW) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble^(SX) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved^(SY) out of it.

⁸“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke^(SZ) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;^(TA)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.^(TB)
⁹Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David^(TC) their king,^(TD)
    whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“‘So do not be afraid,^(TE) Jacob my servant;^(TF)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save^(TG) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,^(TH)
    and no one will make him afraid.^(TI)
¹¹I am with you^(TJ) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy^(TK) you.
I will discipline^(TL) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’^(TM)

¹²“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound^(TN) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.^(TO)
¹³There is no one to plead your cause,^(TP)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing^(TQ) for you.
¹⁴All your allies^(TR) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy^(TS) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,^(TT)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins^(TU) so many.
¹⁵Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?^(TV)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.^(TW)

¹⁶“‘But all who devour^(TX) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.^(TY)
Those who plunder^(TZ) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷But I will restore you to health
    and heal^(UA) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,^(UB)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’^(UC)

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes^(UD) of Jacob’s tents^(UE)
    and have compassion^(UF) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt^(UG) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹From them will come songs^(UH) of thanksgiving^(UI)
    and the sound of rejoicing.^(UJ)
I will add to their numbers,^(UK)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,^(UL)
    and they will not be disdained.
²⁰Their children^(UM) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established^(UN) before me;
    I will punish^(UO) all who oppress them.
²¹Their leader^(UP) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.^(UQ)
I will bring him near^(UR) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
²²“‘So you will be my people,^(US)
    and I will be your God.^(UT)’”

²³See, the storm^(UU) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.

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
Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger
Jeremiah 26:6 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed.
Jeremiah 26:18 Micah 3:12
Jeremiah 27:1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also 27:3,12 and 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim (Most Septuagint manuscripts do not have this verse.)
Jeremiah 27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah

Jeremiah 21-34

King James Version

21 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

²Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

³Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

⁴Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

⁵And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

⁶And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

⁷And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

⁸And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

⁹He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.

¹⁰For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

¹¹And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord;

¹²O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

¹³Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

¹⁴But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

22 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

²And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

³Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

⁵But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

⁶For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

⁷And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

⁸And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?

⁹Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

¹⁰Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

¹¹For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

¹²But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

¹³Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

¹⁴That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

¹⁵Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.

¹⁷But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

¹⁸Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

¹⁹He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

²¹I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

²²The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

²³O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

²⁴As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

²⁵And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

²⁷But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

²⁹O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.

³⁰Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

23 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

²Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

³And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

⁴And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

⁵Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

⁶In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

⁷Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

⁸But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

⁹Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness.

¹⁰For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

¹¹For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.

¹²Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

¹³And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

¹⁴I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

¹⁵Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

¹⁶Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.

¹⁷They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

¹⁸For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

¹⁹Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

²⁰The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

²¹I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

²²But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

²³Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?

²⁴Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

²⁵I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

²⁶How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

²⁷Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

²⁸The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.

²⁹Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

³⁰Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

³¹Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

³²Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

³³And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord.

³⁴And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house.

³⁵Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

³⁶And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.

³⁷Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

³⁸But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;

³⁹Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

⁴⁰And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

24 The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

²One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

³Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

⁴Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁵Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

⁶For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

⁷And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

⁸And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

⁹And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

¹⁰And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

²The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

³From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

⁴And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

⁵They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

⁶And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

⁷Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁸Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,

⁹Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹²And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

¹³And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

¹⁴For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

¹⁵For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

¹⁶And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

¹⁷Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me:

¹⁸To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

²⁰And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

²¹Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,

²²And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,

²³Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,

²⁴And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,

²⁵And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,

²⁶And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

²⁸And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

²⁹For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.

³⁰Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.

³²Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

³³And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

³⁴Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.

³⁵And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture.

³⁷And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

³⁸He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:

³If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

⁴And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

⁵To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;

⁶Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

⁷So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

⁸Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

⁹Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house.

¹¹Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

¹²Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

¹³Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

¹⁴As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

¹⁵But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

¹⁶Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.

¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

²⁰And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.

²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;

²²And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.

²³And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

²⁴Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

³And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

⁴And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

⁵I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

⁶And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

⁷And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

⁸And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

⁹Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

¹⁰For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

¹¹But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

¹²I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

¹³Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

¹⁵For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

¹⁶Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

¹⁷Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

¹⁸But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

¹⁹For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city.

²⁰Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

²¹Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

²²They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

28 And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

²Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:

⁴And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord,

⁶Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the Lord do so: the Lord perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.

⁷Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;

⁸The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

⁹The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.

¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.

¹¹And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

¹³Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.

¹⁴For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

¹⁵Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord.

¹⁷So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

²(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

³By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

⁴Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

⁵Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

⁶Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

⁷And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

⁸For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

⁹For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

¹⁰For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

¹⁴And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;

¹⁶Know that thus saith the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

¹⁷Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

¹⁸And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

¹⁹Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.

²⁰Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

²¹Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;

²²And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

²³Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord.

²⁴Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

²⁵Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

²⁶The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

²⁷Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

²⁸For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

²⁹And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

³⁰Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

³¹Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:

³²Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord.

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

²Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.

³For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

⁴And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

⁵For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

⁶Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

⁷Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

⁸For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

¹⁰Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

¹²For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.

¹⁴All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

¹⁵Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

¹⁶Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

¹⁷For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

¹⁸Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.

¹⁹And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

²⁰Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.

²¹And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

²²And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

²³Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

31 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

²Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

³The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

⁴Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

⁵Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.

⁶For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.

⁷For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

⁸Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

⁹They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

¹¹For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

¹²Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

¹³Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

¹⁴And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

¹⁵Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

¹⁶Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

¹⁸I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.

¹⁹Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

²⁰Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

²¹Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

²²How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

²³Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.

²⁴And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

²⁵For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

²⁶Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

²⁷Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

²⁸And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.

²⁹In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

³⁰But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

³¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

³²Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

³³But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

³⁴And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

³⁵Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:

³⁶If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

³⁷Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.

³⁸Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

³⁹And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

⁴⁰And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

²For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.

³For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

⁴And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

⁵And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

⁶And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁷Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

⁸So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

⁹And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

¹¹So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:

¹²And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

¹³And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

¹⁵For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

¹⁶Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying,

¹⁷Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

¹⁸Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name,

¹⁹Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

²⁰Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;

²¹And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

²²And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

²³And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

²⁴Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

²⁵And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁷Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

²⁸Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:

²⁹And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

³⁰For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.

³¹For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

³²Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

³⁴But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

³⁵And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

³⁶And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

³⁷Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

³⁸And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

³⁹And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

⁴⁰And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

⁴¹Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

⁴²For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

⁴³And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

⁴⁴Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.

33 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;

³Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

⁴For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;

⁵They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

⁶Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

⁷And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

⁸And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

⁹And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

¹⁰Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,

¹¹The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

¹²Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

¹³In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord.

¹⁴Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

¹⁵In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

¹⁷For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

¹⁸Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.

¹⁹And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;

²¹Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

²²As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

²³Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

²⁵Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

²⁶Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

34 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

³And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

⁴Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

⁵But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord.

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

⁷When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

⁸This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

⁹That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

¹⁰Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

¹¹But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

¹²Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

¹³Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

¹⁴At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

¹⁵And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

¹⁶But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

¹⁷Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁸And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

¹⁹The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

²⁰I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

²¹And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you.

²²Behold, I will command, saith the Lord, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 21-30

New International Version

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

The Righteous Branch

Lying Prophets

False Prophecy

Two Baskets of Figs

Seventy Years of Captivity

The Cup of God’s Wrath

Jeremiah Threatened With Death

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

The False Prophet Hananiah

A Letter to the Exiles

Message to Shemaiah

Restoration of Israel

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 21-34

King James Version

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 21-30 New International Version

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

The Righteous Branch

Lying Prophets

False Prophecy

Two Baskets of Figs

Seventy Years of Captivity

The Cup of God’s Wrath

Jeremiah Threatened With Death

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

The False Prophet Hananiah

A Letter to the Exiles

Message to Shemaiah

Restoration of Israel

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 21-34 King James Version

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 21-30

New International Version

Jeremiah 21-34

King James Version