Jeremiah 18-22
New American Standard Bible
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Arise and (A)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 “Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (C)uproot it, to tear it down, or to destroy it; 8 (D)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will (E)relent of the disaster that I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (F)build up or to plant it; 10 if it does (G)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will (H)relent of the good with which I said [a]that I would bless it. 11 So now, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (I)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now (J)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [b]correct your ways and your deeds!”’ 12 But (K)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will [c]persist in the (L)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘(M)Just ask among the nations,
Who ever heard anything like [d]this?
The (N)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (O)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the rock of the open country alone?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever dried up?
15 For (P)My people have forgotten Me,
(Q)They burn incense [e]to worthless gods.
And they [f]have stumbled in their ways,
In the (R)ancient roads,
To walk on paths,
Not on a (S)highway,
16 To make their land a (T)desolation,
An object of perpetual (U)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (V)shake his head.
17 Like an (W)east wind I will (X)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [g]show them (Y)My back and not My face
(Z)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let’s (AA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the (AB)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor (AC)advice by the wise, nor the divine (AD)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s (AE)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s (AF)pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Give Your attention to me, Lord,
And listen to [h]what my opponents are saying!
20 (AG)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (AH)dug a pit for [i]me.
Remember how I (AI)stood before You
To speak good in their behalf,
So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, (AJ)give their children over to famine
And turn them over to the [j]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (AK)childless and (AL)widowed.
Let their men also be slaughtered to death,
Their (AM)young men struck and killed by the sword in battle.
22 May a (AN)cry be heard from their houses
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(AO)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (AP)hidden snares for my feet.
23 But You, Lord, know
All their [k]deadly schemes against me;
(AQ)Do not [l]forgive their wrongdoing
Or wipe out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be [m](AR)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (AS)time of Your anger!
The Broken Jar
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a (AT)potter’s earthenware (AU)jar, and take some of the (AV)elders of the people and some of the [n](AW)senior priests. 2 Then go out to the (AX)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the [o]Potsherd Gate, and (AY)proclaim there the words that I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you (AZ)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold I am going to bring a (BA)disaster upon this place, at which the (BB)ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4 Since they have (BC)abandoned Me and have (BD)made this place foreign, and have burned [p]sacrifices in it to (BE)other gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and since they have filled this place with the (BF)blood of the innocent 5 and have built the (BG)high places of Baal to burn their (BH)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I did not command nor speak of, nor did it ever enter My [q]mind; 6 therefore, behold, (BI)days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called (BJ)Topheth or (BK)the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And I will (BL)frustrate the planning of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and (BM)I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will make their (BN)carcasses food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. 8 I will also turn this city into an object of (BO)horror and [r]hissing; (BP)everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [s]hiss because of all its [t]disasters. 9 And I will make them (BQ)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the siege and in the hardship with which their enemies and those who seek their life will torment them.”’
10 “Then you are to break the (BR)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “To the same extent I will (BS)break this people and this city, just as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will (BT)bury their dead in Topheth, [u]because there is no other place for burial. 12 This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the Lord, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13 The (BU)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be (BV)defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the (BW)houses on whose rooftops they burned [v]sacrifices to (BX)all the heavenly [w]lights and (BY)poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the (BZ)courtyard of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to bring on this city and all its towns the entire disaster that I have declared against it, because they have (CA)stiffened their necks so (CB)as not to listen to My words.’”
Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah
20 When Pashhur the priest, the son of (CC)Immer, who was (CD)chief overseer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet (CE)beaten and put him in the (CF)stocks that were at the upper (CG)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 Then on the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has (CH)called you, but rather [x](CI)Magor-missabib. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to make you a (CJ)horror to yourself and to all your friends; and while (CK)your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will (CL)hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will take them away as (CM)exiles to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. 5 I will also give all the (CN)wealth of this city, all its produce and all its valuable things—even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will (CO)hand over to their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, (CP)Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your (CQ)friends to whom you have (CR)falsely prophesied.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
You have (CS)overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a (CT)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (CU)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (CV)proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the (CW)word of the Lord has [y]resulted
In taunting and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (CX)remember Him
Nor speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (CY)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am tired of holding it in,
And (CZ)I cannot endure it.
10 For (DA)I have heard the whispering of many,
“(DB)Terror on every side!
(DC)Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
[z]All my (DD)trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may (DE)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But the (DF)Lord is with me like a powerful champion;
Therefore my (DG)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be put to great shame because they have [aa]failed,
An (DH)everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, Lord of armies, who (DI)tests the righteous,
Who sees the [ab]mind and the heart;
Let me (DJ)see Your vengeance on them,
For (DK)to You I have disclosed my cause.
13 (DL)Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
For He has (DM)saved the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the (DN)day when I was born;
May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
“A [ac](DO)boy has been born to you!”
And made him very happy.
16 But may that man be like the cities
Which the Lord (DP)overthrew without [ad]relenting,
And may he hear an (DQ)outcry in the morning
And [ae]an alarm for war at noon;
17 Because he did not (DR)kill me [af]before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb forever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
To (DS)look at trouble and sorrow,
So that my (DT)days have been spent in (DU)shame?
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when (DV)King Zedekiah sent to him (DW)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and (DX)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please (DY)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because (DZ)Nebuchadnezzar king of (EA)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us (EB)in accordance with all His [ag]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to (EC)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will (ED)gather them into the middle of this city. 5 And I (EE)Myself will make war against you with an (EF)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in (EG)anger, wrath, and great indignation. 6 I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great (EH)plague. 7 Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “(EI)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He (EJ)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (EK)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who (EL)stays in this city will die by the (EM)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. 10 For I have (EN)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be (EO)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will (EP)burn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the (EQ)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 (ER)house of David, this is what the Lord says:
“(ES)Administer justice [ah]every (ET)morning;
And save the person who has been robbed from the [ai]power of his oppressor,
(EU)So that My wrath will not spread like fire
And (EV)burn, with no one to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, (EW)I am against you, you inhabitant of the (EX)valley,
You [aj]rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You who say, ‘(EY)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter our dwellings?’
14 But I will punish you (EZ)according to the [ak]results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will (FA)kindle a fire in its forest
So that it may devour all its surroundings.”’”
Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who (FB)sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: “(FC)Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his (FD)oppressor. And (FE)do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not (FF)shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed perform this [al]instruction, then (FG)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting [am]in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people. 5 (FH)But if you will not obey these words, I (FI)swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.”’” 6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are like (FJ)Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you a (FK)wilderness,
Cities that are not inhabited.
7 For I will set apart (FL)destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will (FM)cut down your choicest cedars
And (FN)throw them on the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will (FO)say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ 9 Then they will [an]answer, ‘Because they (FP)abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”
10 (FQ)Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep deeply for the one who goes away;
For (FR)he will never return
Or see his native land.
11 For this is what the Lord says regarding [ao](FS)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will (FT)die and he will not see this land again.
Messages about the Kings
13 “Woe to him who builds his house (FU)without righteousness,
And his upstairs rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And (FV)does not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will (FW)build myself a large house
With spacious upstairs rooms,
And cut out its windows,
[ap]Paneling it with (FX)cedar and painting it [aq]bright red.’
15 Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink
And (FY)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was (FZ)well for him.
16 He pled the cause of the (GA)afflicted and the poor,
Then it was well.
(GB)Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own (GC)dishonest gain,
And on (GD)shedding innocent blood,
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says regarding (GE)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
“They will not (GF)mourn for him:
‘(GG)Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’
19 He will be (GH)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from (GI)Abarim,
For all your (GJ)lovers have been crushed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But (GK)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
(GL)This has been your way (GM)from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 The wind will sweep away all your (GN)shepherds,
And your (GO)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be (GP)ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
(GQ)Pain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if [ar](GR)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a (GS)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull [as]you [at]off; 25 and I will (GT)hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will (GU)hurl you and your (GV)mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an (GW)undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been (GX)hurled out
And cast into a (GY)land that they had not known?
29 (GZ)O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
‘Write this man down as (HA)childless,
A man who will (HB)not prosper in his days;
For no man among his (HC)descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit to do it good
- Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit do the
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; MT caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; MT look them in the back and not in the face
- Jeremiah 18:19 Lit the voice of my opponents
- Jeremiah 18:20 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit hands of
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit unto death
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit cover over, atone for
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit ones made to stumble
- Jeremiah 19:1 Or elders of the
- Jeremiah 19:2 I.e., pottery fragment
- Jeremiah 19:4 Or incense
- Jeremiah 19:5 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistling
- Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistle
- Jeremiah 19:8 Lit wounds
- Jeremiah 19:11 Or until there is no place left to bury
- Jeremiah 19:13 Or incense
- Jeremiah 19:13 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
- Jeremiah 20:3 I.e., horror on every side
- Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
- Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
- Jeremiah 20:11 Lit not succeeded; or not acted wisely
- Jeremiah 20:12 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 20:15 Lit male child
- Jeremiah 20:16 Lit being sorry
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or a trumpet blast
- Jeremiah 20:17 Lit from the womb
- Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
- Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
- Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
- Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit
- Jeremiah 22:4 Lit word
- Jeremiah 22:4 Lit for David
- Jeremiah 22:9 Lit say
- Jeremiah 22:11 I.e., Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:14 Or Paneled
- Jeremiah 22:14 Or vermilion
- Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 Lit off from there
Jeremiah 18-22
New Living Translation
The Potter and the Clay
18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8 but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
11 “Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”
12 But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
13 So this is what the Lord says:
“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,
even among the pagan nations?
My virgin daughter Israel
has done something terrible!
14 Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15 But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
and walk in muddy paths.
16 Therefore, their land will become desolate,
a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
and will shake their heads in amazement.
17 I will scatter my people before their enemies
as the east wind scatters dust.
And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them
and refuse to notice their distress.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
19 Lord, hear me and help me!
Listen to what my enemies are saying.
20 Should they repay evil for good?
They have dug a pit to kill me,
though I pleaded for them
and tried to protect them from your anger.
21 So let their children starve!
Let them die by the sword!
Let their wives become childless widows.
Let their old men die in a plague,
and let their young men be killed in battle!
22 Let screaming be heard from their homes
as warriors come suddenly upon them.
For they have dug a pit for me
and have hidden traps along my path.
23 Lord, you know all about their murderous plots against me.
Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins.
Let them die before you.
Deal with them in your anger.
Jeremiah’s Shattered Jar
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you. 2 Go out through the Gate of Broken Pots to the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and give them this message. 3 Say to them, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will bring a terrible disaster on this place, and the ears of those who hear about it will ring!
4 “‘For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods—idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 6 So beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
7 “‘For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. 8 I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. 9 I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’
10 “As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought. 11 Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until there is no more room for them. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. 13 Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth—all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’”
14 Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth, the garbage dump where he had delivered this message, and he stopped in front of the Temple of the Lord. He said to the people there, 15 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 Now Pashhur son of Immer, the priest in charge of the Temple of the Lord, heard what Jeremiah was prophesying. 2 So he arrested Jeremiah the prophet and had him whipped and put in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the Lord’s Temple.
3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. From now on you are to be called ‘The Man Who Lives in Terror.’[a] 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword. 5 And I will let your enemies plunder Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city—the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings—will be carried off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your household will go as captives to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you prophesied that everything would be all right.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 O Lord, you misled me,
and I allowed myself to be misled.
You are stronger than I am,
and you overpowered me.
Now I am mocked every day;
everyone laughs at me.
8 When I speak, the words burst out.
“Violence and destruction!” I shout.
So these messages from the Lord
have made me a household joke.
9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!
10 I have heard the many rumors about me.
They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”
They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”
Even my old friends are watching me,
waiting for a fatal slip.
“He will trap himself,” they say,
“and then we will get our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior.
Before him my persecutors will stumble.
They cannot defeat me.
They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated.
Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
you test those who are righteous,
and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.
Let me see your vengeance against them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
For though I was poor and needy,
he rescued me from my oppressors.
14 Yet I curse the day I was born!
May no one celebrate the day of my birth.
15 I curse the messenger who told my father,
“Good news—you have a son!”
16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old
that the Lord overthrew without mercy.
Terrify him all day long with battle shouts,
17 because he did not kill me at birth.
Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb,
that her body had been my grave!
18 Why was I ever born?
My entire life has been filled
with trouble, sorrow, and shame.
No Deliverance from Babylon
21 The Lord spoke through Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to speak with him. They begged Jeremiah, 2 “Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”
3 Jeremiah replied, “Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[c] who are outside your walls attacking you. In fact, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and a powerful arm, for I am very angry. You have made me furious! 6 I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die. 7 And after all that, says the Lord, I will hand over King Zedekiah, his staff, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and famine. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their other enemies. He will slaughter them and show them no mercy, pity, or compassion.’
8 “Tell all the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Take your choice of life or death! 9 Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life! 10 For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.’
Judgment on Judah’s Kings
11 “Say to the royal family of Judah, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord! 12 This is what the Lord says to the dynasty of David:
“‘Give justice each morning to the people you judge!
Help those who have been robbed;
rescue them from their oppressors.
Otherwise, my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins.
13 I will personally fight against the people in Jerusalem,
that mighty fortress—
the people who boast, “No one can touch us here.
No one can break in here.”
14 And I myself will punish you for your sinfulness,
says the Lord.
I will light a fire in your forests
that will burn up everything around you.’”
A Message for Judah’s Kings
22 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, 2 ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. 3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! 4 If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects. 5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”
A Message about the Palace
6 Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace:
“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead
and the green forests of Lebanon.
But I will turn you into a desert,
with no one living within your walls.
7 I will call for wreckers,
who will bring out their tools to dismantle you.
They will tear out all your fine cedar beams
and throw them on the fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’ 9 And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”
A Message about Jehoahaz
10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss.
Instead, weep for the captive king being led away!
For he will never return to see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz,[d] who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return. 12 He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”
A Message about Jehoiakim
13 And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim,[e]
who builds his palace with forced labor.[f]
He builds injustice into its walls,
for he makes his neighbors work for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
with huge rooms and many windows.
I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar
and paint it a lovely red.’
15 But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!
Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink.
But he was just and right in all his dealings.
That is why God blessed him.
16 He gave justice and help to the poor and needy,
and everything went well for him.
Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
says the Lord.
17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
You murder the innocent,
oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:
“The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another,
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
His subjects will not mourn for him, crying,
‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’
19 He will be buried like a dead donkey—
dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!
20 Weep for your allies in Lebanon.
Shout for them in Bashan.
Search for them in the regions east of the river.[g]
See, they are all destroyed.
Not one is left to help you.
21 I warned you when you were prosperous,
but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’
You have been that way since childhood—
you simply will not obey me!
22 And now the wind will blow away your allies.
All your friends will be taken away as captives.
Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed.
23 It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace
paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon,
but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—
anguish like that of a woman in labor.
A Message for Jehoiachin
24 “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin[h] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. 25 I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear—to King Nebuchadnezzar[i] of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian[j] army. 26 I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land. 27 You will never again return to the land you yearn for.
28 “Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?
Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?
29 O earth, earth, earth!
Listen to this message from the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless.
He is a failure,
for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David
to rule over Judah.’
Footnotes
- 20:3 Hebrew Magor-missabib, which means “surrounded by terror”; also in 20:10.
- 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 21:7.
- 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in 21:9.
- 22:11 Hebrew Shallum, another name for Jehoahaz.
- 22:13a The brother and successor of the exiled Jehoahaz. See 22:18.
- 22:13b Hebrew by unrighteousness.
- 22:20 Or in Abarim.
- 22:24 Hebrew Coniah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin; also in 22:28.
- 22:25a Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
- 22:25b Or Chaldean.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
