But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to repel the weapons of war in your hands,(A) those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[a] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.(B) I myself will fight against you(C) with an outstretched hand and a strong arm,(D) with anger, fury, and intense wrath. I will strike the residents of this city, both people and animals. They will die in a severe plague. Afterward—this is the Lord’s declaration—King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people—those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine—I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,(E) to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 21:4 = Babylonians

Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (A)Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. (B)And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. I myself will fight against you (C)with outstretched hand and strong arm, (D)in anger and in fury and in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. Afterward, declares the Lord, (E)I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. (F)He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

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