Jeremiah 35-40

Christian Standard Bible

The Rechabites’ Example

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,^(B) and bring them to one of the chambers^(C) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴ and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,^(D) who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,^(E) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. ⁷ You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.’^{(F) 8} We have obeyed Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched into the land,^(G) we said, ‘Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.’ So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not accept discipline^(H) by listening to my words?—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁴ The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his descendants not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,^[a](I) and you have not obeyed me! ¹⁵ Time and time again^[b] I have sent you all my servants the prophets, proclaiming, “Turn, each one from his evil way,^(J) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.^(K) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay attention or obey me.^{(L) 16} Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed me. ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring on Judah and on all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done everything he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’”^(M)

Jeremiah Dictates a Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^(N) king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Take a scroll,^(O) and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today. ³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their iniquity^(P) and their sin.”

⁴ So Jeremiah summoned Baruch^(Q) son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation,^[c] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. ⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted;^(R) I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, ⁶ so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation^[d]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. Read his words in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord,^(S) and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are intense.” ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything the prophet Jeremiah had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Baruch Reads the Scroll

⁹ In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month,^(T) all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.^{(U) 10} Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,^(V) in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate^(W) of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,^(X) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” ^[e]

¹⁸ Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

¹⁹ The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide and tell no one where you are.” ²⁰ Then, after depositing the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, the officials came to the king at the courtyard and reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters^(Y) with a fire burning in front of him. ²³ As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll^[f] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the fire in the hearth until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the hearth. ²⁴ As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified^(Z) or tear their clothes. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he did not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll and the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^[g] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the original words that were on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned.^{(AA) 29} You are to proclaim concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, asking, “Why have you written on it that^(AB) the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without people or animals?” ^{(AC) 30} Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne,^(AD) and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.^{(AE) 31} I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.’”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation^[h] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim,^(AF) Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Jerusalem’s Last Days

37 Zedekiah son of Josiah^(AG) reigned as king in the land of Judah^(AH) in place of Coniah^[i](AI) son of Jehoiakim, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made him king. ² He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord^(AJ) that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

³ Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal^(AK) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah^(AL) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf!” ⁴ Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks^[j] among the people, for he had not yet been put into the prison.^{(AM) 5} Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt,^(AN) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ The word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king,^(AO) who is sending you to inquire of me: ‘Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you,^(AP) is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it.^{(AQ) 9} This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave. ¹⁰ Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,^(AR) and there remained among them only the badly wounded^[k] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.’”

Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

¹¹ When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there^(AS) among the people. ¹³ But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,^(AT) an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴ “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not defecting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan^(AU) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^(AV) and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

¹⁷ King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?” ^(AW)

“There is,” Jeremiah responded. He continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”^{(AX) 18} Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’?^{(AY) 20} So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.^(AZ) Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard.^(BA) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.

Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal^[l] son of Shelemiah,^(BB) and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague,^(BC) but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live.^(BD) He will retain his life like the spoils of war and will live.’^{(BE) 3} This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army,^(BF) and he will capture it.’”

⁴ The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale^[m] of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not pursuing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”^(BG)

⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.^(BH)

⁷ But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,^{(BI) 8} Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”^(BJ)

¹⁰ So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here thirty men under your authority^[n] and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority^[o] and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse.^[p] From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹² Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did this. ¹³ They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he remained in the guard’s courtyard.

Zedekiah’s Final Meeting with Jeremiah

¹⁴ King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

¹⁵ Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”

¹⁶ King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private,^(BK) “As the Lord lives, who has given us this life,^(BL) I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to take your life.”

¹⁷ Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon,^(BM) then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive. ¹⁸ But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans.^(BN) They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’”

¹⁹ But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”^(BO)

²⁰ “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict^[q] that the Lord has shown me: ²² ‘All the women^[r] who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you,^[s]

²³ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans.^(BP) You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.’”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation^[v] or you will die. ²⁵ The officials may hear that I have spoken with you^(BQ) and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’ ²⁶ If they do, tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”^{(BR) 27} All the officials did come to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. He reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because the conversation^[w] had not been overheard. ²⁸ Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.^[x]

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

39 In the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it.^{(BS) 2} In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into.^{(BT) 3} All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim^[y] the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king.^(BU)

⁴ When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the fighting men saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden^(BV) through the city gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.^{(BW) 5} However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.^(BX)

⁶ At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles. ⁷ Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.^{(BY) 8} The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.^{(BZ) 9} Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards,^(CA) deported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who remained. ¹⁰ However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.^(CB)

Jeremiah Freed by Nebuchadnezzar

¹¹ Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah: ¹² “Take him and look after him. Don’t do him any harm, but do for him whatever he says.” ¹³ Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, Nebushazban the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the captains of Babylon’s king ¹⁴ had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard^(CC) and turned him over to Gedaliah^(CD) son of Ahikam,^(CE) son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard:^{(CF) 16} “Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite,^(CG) ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words for disaster and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day. ¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day—this is the Lord’s declaration—and you will not be handed over to the men you dread. ¹⁸ Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in me, you will retain your life like the spoils of war.^(CH) This is the Lord’s declaration.’”

Jeremiah Stays in Judah

40 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, released him at Ramah.^(CI) When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² The captain of the guards took Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God decreed this disaster on this place,^{(CJ) 3} and the Lord has fulfilled it. He has done just what he decreed. Because you people have sinned against the Lord^(CK) and have not obeyed him, this thing has happened. ⁴ Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands.^(CL) If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther.^[z] Look—the whole land is in front of you.^(CM) Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.” ⁵ When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him,^[aa] “Return^[ab] to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the guards gave him a ration^(CN) and a gift^(CO) and released him. ⁶ Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah,^(CP) and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.

Gedaliah Advises Peace

⁷ All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael^(CQ) son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.^{(CR) 10} As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you^[ac] before the Chaldeans^(CS) who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”

¹¹ When all the Judeans in Moab^(CT) and among the Ammonites and in^(CU) Edom and in all the other lands^(CV) also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them, ¹² they all returned from all the places where they had been banished^(CW) and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.

¹³ Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and warned him, “Don’t you realize that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah^(CX) to kill you?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, “Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and allow all of Judah that has gathered around you to scatter and the remnant of Judah to perish?” ^(CY)

¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”