“Therefore I will still contend (struggle) with you [by bringing judgment on you],” says the Lord, “And I will contend with your children’s children.”

“For though you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your guilt is [still] before Me [and you are soiled and dirty],” says the Lord God.

Why are we sitting still [the people wonder]? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified cities And let us die there, For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin And given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, Because we have sinned against the Lord.

Judgment Must Come

Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me [interceding for them], My heart would still not be [turned with favor] toward this people [Judah]. Send them away from My presence and out of My sight and let them go!

“She who has borne seven [sons] languishes; She has breathed out her soul. Her sun has set while it was still day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will hand over [the rest of] the survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” says the Lord.

But if they are [true] prophets, and if the word of the Lord is [really spoken] by them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts that the articles which are [still] left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

“Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a darling and beloved child? For as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him. Therefore My affection is renewed and My heart longs for him; I will surely have mercy on him,” says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea’s roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar; The Lord of hosts is His name:

Restoration Promised

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying,

Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was [still] confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying,

While Jeremiah was still hesitating, the captain of the bodyguard said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed [governor] over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him an allowance of food and a gift and let him go.

Because of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines And to cut off from Tyre and Sidon Every ally who remains. For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant [still surviving] of the coastland of Caphtor.

“O you sword of the Lord, How long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself into your sheath; Rest and be still.

For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon and make her a ruin, And He will still her great voice [that hums with city life]. And the waves [of her conquerors] roar like great waters, The noise of their voices is raised up [like the marching of an army].

He also took out of the city one official who was overseer of the soldiers, and seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men who were still in the city.