Jeremiah 21
Complete Jewish Bible
21 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai when King Tzidkiyahu sent to him Pash’chur the son of Malkiyah and Tz’fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah with this message: 2 “Please consult Adonai for us, because N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel is making war on us. Maybe Adonai will perform a miracle for us and cause him to withdraw.”
3 Yirmeyahu answered them, “Here is what you are to tell Tzidkiyahu: 4 ‘This is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will make the weapons of war that you have in your hands ineffectual in your fight against the king of Bavel and the Kasdim who are outside the walls besieging you. Instead, I will gather them inside this city; 5 and I myself will fight against you with my hand stretched out and with a strong arm, in anger, rage and great fury. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, humans and animals alike, and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 Afterwards,” says Adonai “I will hand over Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah, his servants, the people, and anyone remaining alive in this city after the plague, war and famine, to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to their enemies, to those who seek their lives; and he will put them to the sword. He will not spare them; he will have no pity, no compassion.”’
8 “And here is what you are to tell this people: ‘Adonai says: “Look! I am presenting you with the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only ‘spoils of war.’ 10 For I have determined absolutely that this city will have evil, not good,” says Adonai. “It is going to be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it to the ground.”’
11 “To the royal house of Y’hudah say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai; 12 house of David, this is what Adonai says:
“Judge fairly every morning,
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
or my fury will lash out like fire,
burning so hot that no one can quench it,
because of how evil your actions are.”
13 Adonai says, “I am against you, [Yerushalayim,]
situated in a valley like a rock on a plain.
You who say, ‘Who can come down against us?
Who can enter our lairs?’ —
14 I will punish you,” says Adonai,
“as your deeds deserve.
I will set its forest on fire,
and it will devour everything around it.”’”
Jeremiah 21
Lexham English Bible
A Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,[a] 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may go up from against us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,[b] with which you are fighting against them, the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand, and with strong arm, and in anger,[c] and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die. 7 And afterward,”[d] declares[e] Yahweh, “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the edge[f] of the sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion.”’
The Way of Life and the Way of Death
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am setting before you[g] the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city will die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the plague. And he who goes out and goes over to the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you will live, and his life will be to him as booty. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good,” declares[h] Yahweh. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’
A Series of Messages for the House of the King of Judah
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O house of David, thus says Yahweh,
“Execute judgment in the morning, justice,
and deliver the one who has been seized
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and it burns,
and there is no one who quenches it[i]
because of the evil of your deeds.
13 Look, I am against you,
O inhabitants[j] of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” declares[k] Yahweh;
“you who say, ‘Who can descend against us,
or who can enter into our hiding place?’
14 And I will punish you
according to the fruit of your deeds,” declares[l] Yahweh,
“And I will kindle a fire in its forest,
and it will devour all its surroundings.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 21:4 Hebrew “hand”
- Jeremiah 21:5 Literally “nose”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “after thus”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “mouth”
- Jeremiah 21:8 Literally “to the face of you”
- Jeremiah 21:10 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 21:13 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Jeremiah 21:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:14 Literally “a declaration of”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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