You have no reason to fear the people you speak to, for I am with you and will defend you.

Eventually, they will all give you trouble, but you will be safe. They will fight you, but they will not win. Remember, I am with you. I promise I will always deliver you.

I am the One who delivered you into this land of abundance to enjoy its fruits and many good things. But you have now taken the very land I gave you and defiled it. You have done a most disgusting thing with this gift I reserved only for you.

People of this generation, consider again the word of the Eternal. Eternal One: Have I been a barren wasteland to Israel with nothing to offer? Am I no more than a land cloaked in darkness to them? Why do My own people say to Me, “We would rather wander where we want than come to You”?

Still you dare to say, “I am innocent; surely God could not be angry with me anymore.” Yet watch as I condemn you because you perjure yourself saying, “I have not sinned.”

But I am welling up with His anger. I’m too tired to try to hold it in any longer. Eternal One: Pour it out on children playing in the streets, on young men meeting together. Husbands and wives, old and even the very old— let each of them know they will be taken.

Jeremiah: Oh, the anguish that is mine! If only you had not given birth to me, mother; I feel like a man who fights and struggles with the whole land. I have not lent money or borrowed from others. So why am I treated this way? Everyone is ready to curse me.

Jeremiah: O Eternal One—You know what I am facing; Remember me, and pay attention to my plight. Take my side; pay back those who persecute me. I know You are patient, but don’t let them take me away. Think of the suffering I’ve endured for Your sake.

They will come at you, but I will make you like a wall of bronze against them. They will not beat you, because I am with you to save and rescue you. This will be so, for I have declared it.

Yet, You knew this already, Eternal. You know of their plans to kill me. That’s why I am asking You not to forgive them, not to forget their sins or erase their crimes from Your sight. Let them be overthrown and killed before Your eyes. Deal with them while Your anger is still hot.

I am about to summon the clans of the north along with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who serves Me. I will use them to punish this land and those of you who live in it. I will also use them against all the surrounding nations of Judah. I will destroy them completely, making them a place of horror, an object of scorn, a land of everlasting ruin.

So the Eternal now says this to you: “Pay attention. I am about to wipe you from the face of the earth. Because you have stirred up rebellion against Me with your words, you will die this year.”

Because I am with you, and I will deliver you. I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, But I will not destroy you completely. I will discipline you, but My discipline will be just. I will not let you go unpunished.

Eternal One: I, the Eternal God of Israel, am reminding you that I made a covenant with your ancestors when I rescued them from slavery in the land of Egypt. I told them:

King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance to the Eternal’s temple. King Zedekiah: I am going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth; don’t hold anything back.

But today I am giving you your freedom. I am ordering the chains removed from your wrists. I am also giving you the chance to decide where you will live. If you’d like, you can come with me to Babylon, and I will look out for you. But if you’d rather not come to Babylon, then don’t. Look around you; you can go from here today and live anywhere you want. You decide.

But before Jeremiah turned to leave, Nebuzaradan made a suggestion. Nebuzaradan: Why don’t you go back to Gedaliah (son of Ahikim and grandson of Shaphan)? The king of Babylon has put him in charge of the towns of Judah. You could live with him and still be among your people. But again, feel free to go where you please. At this point, the captain gave Jeremiah some food and supplies, along with a gift, and released him.

I know you are afraid of this king of Babylon, but don’t fear him any longer. For I, the Eternal One, declare that I am with you and I will save you and rescue you from his authority.

Do not be afraid, O Jacob, My servant, for I am with you. Even if I completely destroy all the nations To which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Remember this, O Israel: I will discipline you out of justice. I will not let you go unpunished.

When I am finished with you, there will be no stones to salvage— No cornerstones, no foundation stones; you will be desolate forever.