Jeremiah 25-40

New American Standard Bible

Prophecy of the Captivity

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(A)fourth year of ^(B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(C)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ² the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(D)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ³ “From the ^(E)thirteenth year of ^(F)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^[a]these ^(G)twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^(H)again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ And the Lord has sent to you all His ^(I)servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ saying, ‘^(J)Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers ^(K)forever and ever; ⁶ and ^(L)do not follow other gods to ^[b]serve them and to ^[c]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order to ^(M)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

⁸ “Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ behold, I will ^(N)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(O)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will ^[d]completely destroy them and ^(P)make them an object of horror and ^[e]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. ¹⁰ Moreover, I will ^(Q)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the ^(R)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ^11 (S)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for ^(T)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

¹² ‘Then it will be ^(U)when seventy years are completed I will ^(V)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(W)I will make it an everlasting desolation. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in ^(X)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(Y)all the nations. ¹⁴ (^[f]For ^(Z)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(AA)repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

¹⁵ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this ^(AB)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. ¹⁶ Then they will ^(AC)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and ^(AD)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: ¹⁸ To ^(AE)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, ^[g]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹ To ^(AF)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; ²⁰ and to all the ^(AG)foreign ^[h]people, all the kings of the ^(AH)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(AI)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(AJ)Ashdod); ²¹ To ^(AK)Edom, ^(AL)Moab, and the sons of ^(AM)Ammon; ²² and to all the kings of ^(AN)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of ^(AO)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; ²³ and to ^(AP)Dedan, Tema, ^(AQ)Buz, and all who ^(AR)trim the corners of their hair; ²⁴ and to all the kings of ^(AS)Arabia and all the kings of the ^(AT)foreign ^[i]people who live in the desert; ²⁵ and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(AU)Elam, and all the kings of ^(AV)Media; ²⁶ and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(AW)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of ^[j](AX)Sheshach shall drink it after them.

²⁷ “And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “^(AY)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the ^(AZ)sword which I am sending among you.”’ ²⁸ And if they ^(BA)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(BB)You shall certainly drink! ²⁹ For behold, I am ^(BC)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is ^(BD)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for ^(BE)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’

³⁰ “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

³³ “Those ^(BL)put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ^[m]other. They will ^(BM)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like ^(BN)dung on the face of the ground.

Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(BU)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(BV)Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(BW)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(BX)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(BY)Do not omit a word! ^3 (BZ)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and ^(CA)I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ⁴ And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(CB)If you do not listen to Me, to ^(CC)walk in My Law which I have set before you, ⁵ to listen to the words of ^(CD)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; ⁶ then I will make this house like ^(CE)Shiloh, and I will make this city a ^(CF)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷ The ^(CG)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “^(CH)You must die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(CI)in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And ^(CJ)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the ^(CK)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the ^(CL)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets ^(CM)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(CN)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(CO)against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^(CP)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ Now then, ^(CQ)reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴ But as for me, behold, ^(CR)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(CS)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words ^[q]so that you hear them.”

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people ^(CT)said to the priests and the prophets, “No ^(CU)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ Then ^(CV)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸ “^[r](CW)Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies has said:

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not ^(CZ)fear the Lord and plead for the favor of the Lord, and ^(DA)the Lord relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(DB)committing a great evil against our own lives!”

²⁰ Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(DC)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(DD)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he ^(DE)fled and went to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(DF)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt. ²³ And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(DG)killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the ^[t]burial place of the ^[u]common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(DH)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(DI)not handed over to the people to put him to death.

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of ^[v](DJ)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— ² this is what the Lord has said to me: “Make for yourself ^(DK)restraints and ^(DL)yokes and put them on your neck, ³ and send ^[w]word to the king of ^(DM)Edom, the king of ^(DN)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(DO)Ammon, the king of ^(DP)Tyre, and to the king of ^(DQ)Sidon ^[x]by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Order them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ ‘^(DR)I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth ^(DS)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(DT)give it to the one who is ^[y]pleasing in My sight. ⁶ And now I ^(DU)have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(DV)My servant, and I have also given him the ^(DW)animals of the field to serve him. ^7 (DX)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(DY)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(DZ)many nations and great kings will ^[z]make him their servant.

⁸ ‘And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which ^(EA)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(EB)sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the Lord, ‘until I have eliminated ^[aa]it by his hand. ⁹ And as for you, ^(EC)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[ab]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰ For they are prophesying a ^(ED)lie to you in order to ^(EE)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nation that will ^(EF)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(EG)let remain on its land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will cultivate it and live in it.’”’”

¹² I spoke words like all these to ^(EH)Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why should you ^(EI)die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the Lord has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ So ^(EJ)do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a ^(EK)lie to you; ¹⁵ for ^(EL)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they are ^(EM)prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will ^(EN)drive you away and that you will perish, ^(EO)you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the ^(EP)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a ^(EQ)lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(ER)become a place of ruins? ¹⁸ But ^(ES)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, have them now ^(ET)plead with the Lord of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the ^(EU)pillars, concerning the ^[ac]sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(EV)led into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ Yes, this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²² “They will be ^(EW)brought to Babylon and will be there until the ^(EX)day I visit them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will ^(EY)bring them ^[ad]back and restore them to this place.”’”

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(EZ)in the beginning of the reign of ^(FA)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(FB)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(FC)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “^(FD)This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(FE)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴ I am ^(FF)also going to bring back to this place ^(FG)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(FH)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(FI)yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the ^(FJ)house of the Lord, ⁶ and Jeremiah the prophet said, “^(FK)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Yet ^(FL)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^[ae]so that you and all the people can hear it! ⁸ The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(FM)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(FN)when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(FO)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “^(FP)This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Then the ^(FQ)word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ¹³ “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made ^(FR)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a ^(FS)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(FT)serve him. And ^(FU)I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and ^(FV)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^(FW)Behold, I am going to ^[af]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(FX)die, because you ^(FY)spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

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

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(FZ)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King ^(GA)Jeconiah and the ^(GB)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(GC)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have ^(GD)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ ‘^(GE)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[ag]produce. ⁶ Take ^(GF)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. ^7 (GG)Seek the ^[ah]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(GH)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for ^[ai]in its ^[aj]prosperity will be your ^[ak]prosperity.’ ⁸ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your ^(GI)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(GJ)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(GK)your dreams which you dream. ⁹ For they ^(GL)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(GM)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When ^(GN)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(GO)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(GP)plans that I ^[al]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^[am](GQ)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(GR)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(GS)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(GT)listen to you. ¹³ And you will ^(GU)seek Me and find Me when you ^(GV)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will let Myself be ^(GW)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(GX)restore your fortunes and ^(GY)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(GZ)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(HA)prophets for us in Babylon’— ¹⁶ for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did ^(HB)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷ this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(HC)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like ^(HD)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ^(HE)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(HF)curse and an object of horror and ^[an](HG)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they have ^(HH)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(HI)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ²⁰ ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have ^(HJ)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are ^(HK)prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. ²² Because of them a ^(HL)curse will be ^[ao]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ^(HM)roasted in the fire,’ ²³ because they ^(HN)acted ^[ap]foolishly in Israel, and ^(HO)committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely ^(HP)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who ^(HQ)knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

²⁴ Now you shall speak to ^(HR)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent ^(HS)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(HT)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ^[aq](HU)overseer of the house of the Lord for every ^(HV)insane person who ^(HW)prophesies, to ^(HX)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. ²⁷ So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(HY)Anathoth who prophesies to you, ²⁸ seeing that he has ^(HZ)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘^[ar]The exile will be ^(IA)long; ^(IB)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their ^[as]produce’?”’”

²⁹ Now ^(IC)Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^[at]to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹ “Send word to ^(ID)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning ^(IE)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has ^(IF)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(IG)made you trust in a lie,” ³² therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(IH)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[au]descendants; he will ^(II)not have anyone living among this people, ^(IJ)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^(IK)spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

Liberation from Captivity Promised

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(IL)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. ³ For behold, ^(IM)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(IN)restore the fortunes of My people ^(IO)Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also ^(IP)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”

⁴ Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

⁵ “For this is what the Lord says:

⁸ ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will ^(IW)break his yoke from ^[aw]their necks and will tear to pieces ^[ax]their ^(IX)restraints; and strangers will no longer ^(IY)make ^[ay]them their slaves. ⁹ But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(IZ)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

Restoration of Jacob

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the ^(KK)God of all the ^(KL)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:

²³ This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I ^(MT)restore their fortunes,

²⁴ Judah and all its cities will ^(MW)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. ^25 (MX)For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and ^[bx]refresh everyone who languishes.” ²⁶ At this I ^(MY)awoke and looked, and my ^(MZ)sleep had been pleasant to me.

A New Covenant

²⁷ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will ^(NA)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. ²⁸ And just as I have ^(NB)watched over them to ^(NC)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(ND)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

³⁰ But ^(NF)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

³¹ “^(NG)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a ^(NH)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the ^(NI)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(NJ)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(NK)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³ “For ^(NL)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “^(NM)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(NN)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will ^(NO)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all ^(NP)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will ^(NQ)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(NR)sin I will no longer remember.”

³⁸ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the ^(NZ)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the ^(OA)Tower of Hananel to the ^(OB)Corner Gate. ³⁹ The ^(OC)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰ And ^(OD)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(OE)Kidron to the corner of the ^(OF)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(OG)holy to the Lord; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again.”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the ^(OH)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the ^(OI)courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah, ³ because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(OJ)imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you ^(OK)prophesy, saying, ‘^(OL)This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(OM)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it; ⁴ and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(ON)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(OO)speak with him ^[cc]face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵ Then he will ^(OP)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(OQ)not succeed”’?”

⁶ And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷ ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at ^(OR)Anathoth, for you have the ^(OS)right of redemption to buy it.”’ ⁸ Then my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the ^(OT)courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at ^(OU)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the ^(OV)word of the Lord.

⁹ “So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I ^(OW)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen ^(OX)shekels of silver. ¹⁰ And I ^[cd](OY)signed and ^(OZ)sealed the deed, and ^(PA)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹ Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the ^(PB)terms and conditions and the open copy; ¹² and I gave the deed of purchase to ^(PC)Baruch the son of ^(PD)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. ¹³ And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may ^[ce]last a long time.” ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “^(PE)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land.”’

Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

¹⁶ “After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I ^(PF)prayed to the Lord, saying, ¹⁷ ‘^(PG)Oh, Lord ^[cf]God! Behold, You Yourself have ^(PH)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! ^(PI)Nothing is too difficult for You, ¹⁸ who ^(PJ)shows mercy to thousands, but ^(PK)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, ^(PL)great and ^(PM)mighty God. The ^(PN)Lord of armies is His name; ^19 (PO)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose ^(PP)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, ^(PQ)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; ²⁰ who has ^(PR)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have ^(PS)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. ²¹ You ^(PT)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²² and You gave them this land, which You ^(PU)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³ They ^(PV)came in and took possession of it, but they ^(PW)did not obey Your voice or ^(PX)walk in Your Law; they did not do ^[cg]anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made ^(PY)all this disaster happen to them. ²⁴ Behold, the ^(PZ)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been ^(QA)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the ^(QB)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has ^(QC)come to pass; and behold, You see it. ²⁵ Yet You have said to me, Lord ^[ch]God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.’”

²⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷ “Behold, I am the Lord, the ^(QD)God of all flesh; is anything ^(QE)too difficult for Me?” ²⁸ Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(QF)hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. ²⁹ And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and ^(QG)set this city on fire and burn it, with the ^(QH)houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. ³⁰ For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only ^(QI)evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only ^(QJ)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. ³¹ “Indeed this city has been to Me a ^(QK)provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be ^(QL)removed from My sight, ³² because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their ^(QM)kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³ They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, ^(QN)teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline. ³⁴ But they ^(QO)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³⁵ They built the ^(QP)high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to ^(QQ)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it ^[ci]entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

³⁶ “Now therefore the Lord God of Israel says the following concerning this city of which you say, ‘It has been ^(QR)handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague’: ³⁷ Behold, I am going to ^(QS)gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and ^(QT)have them live in safety. ³⁸ They shall be ^(QU)My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹ and I will ^(QV)give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own ^(QW)good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ I will make an ^(QX)everlasting covenant with them that I will ^(QY)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will ^(QZ)put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me. ⁴¹ I will ^(RA)rejoice over them to do them good and will ^[cj]faithfully ^(RB)plant them in this land with ^(RC)all My heart and all My soul. ⁴² For this is what the Lord says: ‘^(RD)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to ^(RE)bring on them all the good that I am promising them. ⁴³ And ^(RF)fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, “^(RG)It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴ People will buy fields for money, ^[ck](RH)sign and seal ^[cl]deeds, and call in witnesses in the ^(RI)land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the ^[cm]Negev; for I will ^(RJ)restore their fortunes,’ declares the Lord.”

Restoration Promised

33 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still ^(RK)confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, ² “This is what ^(RL)the Lord says, He who made ^[cn]the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ^(RM)Lord: ³ ‘^(RN)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ^(RO)great and ^[co]mighty things, ^(RP)which you do not know.’ ⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the ^(RQ)houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ^(RR)assault ramps and the sword: ⁵ ‘While they are coming to ^(RS)fight the Chaldeans and to fill ^[cp]their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ^(RT)hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: ⁶ Behold, I am going to bring to it ^(RU)healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ^(RV)abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ And I will ^(RW)restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ^(RX)rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸ And I will ^(RY)cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me. ^9 [cq]It will be to Me a ^(RZ)name of joy, praise, and glory before ^(SA)all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ^(SB)good that I do for them, and they will be ^(SC)frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a ^(SD)waste, without man and without animal,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ^(SE)deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, ¹¹ the voice of ^(SF)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

as they bring a ^(SH)thanksgiving offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

¹² “This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, ^(SI)without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ^(SJ)flocks. ¹³ In the ^(SK)cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again ^(SL)pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴ ‘Behold, ^(SM)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(SN)fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will make a ^(SO)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(SP)justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶ In those days ^(SQ)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(SR)Lord is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: ‘^[cr]David shall ^(SS)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ^18 [cs]and the ^(ST)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(SU)prepare sacrifices ^[ct]continually.’”

¹⁹ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can ^(SV)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time, ²¹ then ^(SW)My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ²² As the ^(SX)heavenly ^[cu]lights cannot be counted, and the ^(SY)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(SZ)multiply the ^[cv]descendants of My servant David and the ^(TA)Levites who serve Me.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, ‘The ^(TB)two families which the Lord chose, He has ^(TC)rejected them’? So they ^(TD)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^[cw]in their sight. ²⁵ This is what the Lord says: ‘If My ^(TE)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(TF)not established the ^[cx]fixed patterns of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I would ^(TG)reject the ^[cy]descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^[cz]descendants ^(TH)rulers over the ^[da]descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(TI)restore their fortunes and have ^(TJ)mercy on them.’”

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^(TK)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(TL)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^[db]control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(TM)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, ^(TN)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(TO)he will burn it with fire. ³ And as for you, ^(TP)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(TQ)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^[dc]face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the Lord says concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. ⁵ You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^(TR)burn spices for you; and ^(TS)they will mourn for you, crying, “Oh, my lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(TT)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^(TU)Lachish and ^(TV)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(TW)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

⁸ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had ^(TX)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(TY)proclaim ^[dd]release to them: ⁹ that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(TZ)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(UA)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. ¹⁰ And all the ^(UB)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I ^(UC)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(UD)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “^(UE)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^[de]has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers ^(UF)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵ Although recently you had turned and ^(UG)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^[df]release to his neighbor, and you had ^(UH)made a covenant before Me ^(UI)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶ Yet you ^(UJ)turned and ^(UK)profaned My name, and each person ^[dg]took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.’

¹⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^[dh]release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(UL)proclaiming a ^[di]release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the ^(UM)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(UN)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ I will give the people who have ^(UO)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(UP)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹ the ^(UQ)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰ I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(UR)seek their lives. And their ^(US)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. ^21 (UT)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(UU)withdrawn from you. ²² Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(UV)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(UW)desolation ^(UX)without inhabitant.’”

The Rechabites’ Obedience

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^(UY)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the ^(UZ)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the ^(VA)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” ³ So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(VB)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(VC)the doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set before the ^[dj]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “^(VD)Drink wine!” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine, for ^(VE)Jonadab the son of ^(VF)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall ^(VG)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^[dk]own one; but you shall live in ^(VH)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(VI)many days ^[dl]in the land where you ^(VJ)live as strangers.’ ⁸ And we have ^(VK)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(VL)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have ^(VM)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(VN)Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when ^(VO)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s ^(VP)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”

Judah Rebuked

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “^(VQ)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. ¹⁴ “The ^(VR)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you ^(VS)again and again, yet you have ^(VT)not listened to Me. ¹⁵ Also I have sent to you all My ^(VU)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘^(VV)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(VW)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(VX)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(VY)inclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶ Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(VZ)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷ Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, ^(WA)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(WB)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have ^(WC)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(WD)will not lack a man to ^(WE)stand before Me ^[dm]always.”’”

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the ^(WF)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a ^[dn](WG)scroll and write on it all the ^(WH)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(WI)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(WJ)nations, from the ^(WK)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ^3 (WL)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(WM)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(WN)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah called ^(WO)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^[do](WP)scroll ^[dp]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am ^[dq](WQ)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go and ^(WR)read from the scroll, which you have ^(WS)written ^[dr]at my dictation, the words of the Lord ^[ds]to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of ^(WT)fasting. And you shall also read them ^[dt]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ^7 (WU)Perhaps their pleading will ^[du]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(WV)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(WW)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ Now in the ^(WX)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(WY)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(WZ)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(XA)fast before the Lord. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the ^(XB)chamber of ^(XC)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(XD)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(XE)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹ Now when ^(XF)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(XG)Elishama the scribe, ^(XH)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(XI)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ And Micaiah ^(XJ)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(XK)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(XL)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(XM)read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(XN)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly ^(XO)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(XP)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[dv]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, “He ^(XQ)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(XR)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the ^(XS)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(XT)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(XU)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(XV)winter house in the ^(XW)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(XX)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(XY)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(XZ)tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(YA)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(YB)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(YC)Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

²⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(YD)burned the scroll and the words which ^(YE)Baruch had written ^[dw]at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “^(YF)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(YG)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹ And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have ^(YH)burned this scroll, saying, ‘^(YI)Why have you written on it ^[dx]that the ^(YJ)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” ³⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have ^(YK)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(YL)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I will also ^(YM)punish him, his ^[dy]descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(YN)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he ^(YO)wrote on it at the ^[dz]dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many ^[ea]similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

37 Now ^(YP)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ^(YQ)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ^(YR)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ² But ^(YS)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Yet ^(YT)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(YU)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “^(YV)Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” ⁴ Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ^(YW)put him in prison. ⁵ Meanwhile, ^(YX)Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ^(YY)withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(YZ)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, ^(ZA)Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ Then the Chaldeans will ^(ZB)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹ This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not ^(ZC)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. ¹⁰ For ^(ZD)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(ZE)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(ZF)take ^[eb]possession of some property there among the people. ¹³ While he was at the ^(ZG)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(ZH)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” ¹⁴ But Jeremiah said, “^(ZI)A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵ Then the officials were ^(ZJ)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ^(ZK)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. ¹⁶ For Jeremiah had come into the ^[ec](ZL)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

¹⁷ Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(ZM)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a ^(ZN)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be ^(ZO)handed over to the king of Babylon!” ¹⁸ Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “^(ZP)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ And ^(ZQ)where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The ^(ZR)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? ²⁰ But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ^(ZS)plea ^[ed]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” ²¹ Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ^(ZT)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ^(ZU)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was ^(ZV)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the ^(ZW)son of Shelemiah, and ^(ZX)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Anyone who ^(ZY)stays in this city will die by the ^(ZZ)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ^(AAA)life as plunder, and stay alive.’ ³ This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be ^(AAB)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” ⁴ Then the ^(AAC)officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is ^[ee](AAD)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and ^[ef]all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man ^(AAE)is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” ⁵ And King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your ^[eg]hands; for the king ^(AAF)can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the ^(AAG)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ^(AAH)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. ⁷ But ^(AAI)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a ^[eh](AAJ)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the ^(AAK)Gate of Benjamin; ⁸ and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is ^(AAL)no more bread in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here ^[ei]under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men under his ^[ej]authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom, and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. ¹² Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. ¹³ So they pulled Jeremiah out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ^(AAM)courtyard of the guardhouse.

Zedekiah Seeks an Answer from God

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah ^(AAN)sent word and ^[ek]had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ^(AAO)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” ¹⁵ And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “^(AAP)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶ But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in ^(AAQ)secret, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this ^[el](AAR)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to ^(AAS)these men who are seeking your ^[em]life.”

¹⁷ So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord ^(AAT)God of armies, the ^(AAU)God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed ^(AAV)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then ^[en]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will ^[eo]survive. ¹⁸ But if you do ^(AAW)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city ^(AAX)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and ^(AAY)you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” ¹⁹ Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am ^(AAZ)in fear of the Jews who have ^(ABA)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will ^(ABB)abuse me.” ²⁰ But Jeremiah said, “They will not turn you over. Please ^[ep](ABC)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go ^(ABD)well for you and ^[eq](ABE)you may live. ²¹ But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: ²² ‘Behold, all of the ^(ABF)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,

²³ They are also going to bring out all your wives and your ^(ABG)sons to the Chaldeans, and ^(ABH)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and ^(ABI)this city will be burned with fire.’”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know about these words, and you will not die. ²⁵ But if the ^(ABJ)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ ²⁶ then you are to say to them, ‘I was ^(ABK)presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” ²⁷ Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the ^[es]conversation had not been overheard. ²⁸ So Jeremiah ^(ABL)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

Jerusalem Captured

39 ^[et]Now when Jerusalem was captured ^[eu](ABM)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; ² in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was ^(ABN)breached. ³ Then all the ^(ABO)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the ^(ABP)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the ^[ev]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^[ew]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴ And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they ^(ABQ)fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate ^(ABR)between the two walls; and he went out toward the ^[ex]Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the ^(ABS)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the ^(ABT)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at ^(ABU)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he ^[ey]passed sentence on him. ⁶ Then the ^(ABV)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah ^(ABW)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the ^(ABX)nobles of Judah. ⁷ He then ^(ABY)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in ^(ABZ)shackles of bronze to bring him to ^(ACA)Babylon. ⁸ The Chaldeans also ^(ACB)burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they ^(ACC)tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^(ACD)deserters who had deserted to him and ^(ACE)the rest of the people who remained, ^(ACF)Nebuzaradan the ^(ACG)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon. ¹⁰ But some of the ^(ACH)poorest people, who had nothing, ^(ACI)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields ^[ez]at that time.

Jeremiah Spared

¹¹ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding ^(ACJ)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, ¹² “Take him and ^[fa]look after him, and ^(ACK)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.” ¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the ^[fb]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^[fc]Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; ¹⁴ they even sent word and ^(ACL)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to ^(ACM)Gedaliah, the son of ^(ACN)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was ^(ACO)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying, ¹⁶ “Go and speak to ^(ACP)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city ^(ACQ)for disaster and not for ^[fd]prosperity; and they will ^(ACR)take place before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will ^(ACS)save you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own ^(ACT)life as plunder, because you have ^(ACU)trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after ^(ACV)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(ACW)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(ACX)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The ^(ACY)Lord your God promised this disaster against this place; ³ and the Lord has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(ACZ)sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you. ⁴ But now, behold, I am ^(ADA)setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ^[fe]you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^[ff]look after you; but if ^[fg]you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^[fh]do not come. Look, the ^(ADB)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.” ⁵ As ^[fi]Jeremiah was still not going back, ^[fj]he said, “Go on back then to ^(ADC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(ADD)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^(ADE)ration and a ^(ADF)gift, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(ADG)Mizpah to ^(ADH)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (ADI)Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ^[fk]children, those of the ^(ADJ)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(ADK)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(ADL)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(ADM)Netophathite, and ^(ADN)Jezaniah the son of the ^(ADO)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(ADP)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(ADQ)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. ¹⁰ Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(ADR)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(ADS)gather wine, ^(ADT)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” ¹¹ Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(ADU)Moab and among the sons of ^(ADV)Ammon and in ^(ADW)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^[fl]left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. ¹² Then all the Jews ^(ADX)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴ and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(ADY)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^(ADZ)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(AEA)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(AEB)remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^(AEC)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”