Chronological
Jeremiah Imprisoned
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the (A)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Now at that time the military force of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the (B)court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah, 3 because Zedekiah king of Judah had (C)shut him up, saying, “Why do you (D)prophesy, saying, ‘(E)Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to (F)give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it; 4 and Zedekiah king of Judah will (G)not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will (H)speak with him [a]face to face and see him eye to eye; 5 and he will (I)lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I [b]visit him,” declares Yahweh. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will (J)not succeed”’?”
6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of Yahweh 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 (K)Anathoth, for you have the (L)legal judgment for redemption to buy it.”’ 8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the (M)court of the guard according to the word of Yahweh and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at (N)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the legal judgment for possession, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the (O)word of Yahweh.
9 “I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I (P)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen [c](Q)shekels of silver. 10 And I [d](R)signed and (S)sealed the deed and (T)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 (U)commandment and statutes and the open copy, 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to (V)Baruch the son of (W)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 court of the guard. 13 And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying, 14 ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds—this deed of purchase—that is the sealed one as well as this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may [e]last a long time.” 15 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “(X)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’
Jeremiah Prays, Yahweh Responds
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I (Y)prayed to Yahweh, saying, 17 ‘(Z)Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, You have (AA)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! (AB)Nothing is too difficult for You, 18 who (AC)shows lovingkindness to thousands, but (AD)repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O (AE)great and (AF)mighty God. (AG)Yahweh of hosts is His name, 19 (AH)great in counsel and abundant in deeds, whose (AI)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, (AJ)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds, 20 who has (AK)set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have (AL)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21 You (AM)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror 22 and gave them this land, which You (AN)swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They (AO)came in and took possession of it, but they (AP)did not listen to Your voice and did not (AQ)walk in Your law. They have not done anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made (AR)all this harmful evil come upon them. 24 Behold, the (AS)siege ramps have come to the city to capture it; and the city is (AT)given into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, because of the (AU)sword, the famine, and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has (AV)happened; and behold, You see it. 25 And You have said to me, O Lord Yahweh, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—but the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”
26 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am Yahweh, the (AW)God of all flesh; is anything (AX)too difficult for Me?” 28 Therefore thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to (AY)give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 29 And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and (AZ)set this city on fire and burn it, with the (BA)houses where people have burned incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 30 Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only (BB)evil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only (BC)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares Yahweh. 31 “Indeed this city has been to Me a (BD)provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be (BE)removed from before My face 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 (BF)kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 And they have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, (BG)rising up early and teaching, they would not listen [f]and receive discipline. 34 But they (BH)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 And they built the (BI)high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to (BJ)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it come upon My heart that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 “So now, therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you are saying, ‘It is (BK)given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence.’ 37 Behold, I will (BL)gather them out of all the lands to which I have banished them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will cause them to return to this place and (BM)make them inhabit it in safety. 38 And they shall be (BN)My people, and I will be their God; 39 and I will (BO)give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own (BP)good and for the good of their children after them. 40 And I will cut an (BQ)everlasting covenant with them that I will (BR)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will (BS)put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41 And I will (BT)rejoice over them to do them good and will truly (BU)plant them in this land with (BV)all My heart and with all My soul. 42 For thus says Yahweh, ‘(BW)Just as I brought all this great evil on this people, so I am going to (BX)bring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43 (BY)Thus fields will be bought in this land of which you all are saying, “(BZ)It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44 Men will buy fields for money, [g](CA)sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the (CB)land of Benjamin, in the surroundings of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the [h]Shephelah, and in the cities of the [i]Negev; for I will [j](CC)return their [k]fortunes,’ declares Yahweh.”
Yahweh Will Pardon the People’s Iniquity
33 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still [l](CD)confined in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “Thus says (CE)Yahweh who made [m]the earth, Yahweh who formed it to establish it; (CF)Yahweh is His name, 3 ‘(CG)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you (CH)great and mighty things, (CI)which you do not know.’ 4 For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the (CJ)houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are torn down to make a defense against the (CK)siege ramps and against the sword, 5 ‘While they are coming to (CL)fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have struck down in My anger and in My wrath, and I have (CM)hidden My face from this city because of all their evil: 6 Behold, I will bring to it (CN)health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an (CO)abundance of peace and truth. 7 I will [n](CP)return the [o]fortunes of Judah and the [p]fortunes of Israel and will (CQ)rebuild them as they were at first. 8 And I will (CR)cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 And [q]it will be to Me a (CS)name of joy, praise, and beauty before (CT)all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the (CU)good that I do for them, and they will (CV)be in dread and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’
10 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a (CW)waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are (CX)desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of (CY)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“(CZ)Give thanks to Yahweh of hosts,
For Yahweh is good,
For His lovingkindness endures forever”;
and of those who bring a (DA)thank offering into the house of Yahweh. For I will [r]return the [s]fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says Yahweh.
12 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, (DB)without man or beast, and in all its cities, [t]an abode of shepherds who cause their (DC)flocks to lie down. 13 In the (DD)cities of the hill country, in the cities of the [u]Shephelah, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again (DE)pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says Yahweh.
The Righteous Branch of David
14 ‘Behold, (DF)days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will (DG)establish 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 cause a (DH)righteous Branch of David to branch forth; and He shall do (DI)justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days (DJ)Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell in security; and this is the name by which she will be called: (DK)Yahweh is our righteousness.’ 17 For thus says Yahweh, ‘[v]David shall (DL)not have a man cut off from sitting on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 [w]and the (DM)Levitical priests shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to offer burnt offerings, to offer up grain offerings in smoke, and to (DN)perform sacrifices [x]continually.’”
19 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘If you can (DO)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21 then (DP)My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 As the (DQ)host of heaven cannot be counted and the (DR)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will (DS)multiply the seed of David My servant and the (DT)Levites who minister to Me.’”
23 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not seen what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The (DU)two families which Yahweh chose, He has (DV)rejected them’? Thus they have (DW)spurned My people from being a nation any longer [y]in their sight. 25 Thus says Yahweh, ‘If My (DX)covenant for day and night stand not, and the statutes for heaven and earth I have (DY)not established, 26 then I would (DZ)reject the seed of Jacob and David My servant, [z]not taking from his seed (EA)rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will [aa](EB)return their [ab]fortunes and will have (EC)compassion on them.’”
A Prophecy Against Zedekiah
34 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when (ED)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his military force, with (EE)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his [ac]dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(EF)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, (EG)I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and (EH)he will burn it with fire. 3 (EI)And you will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be seized and given into his hand; and you will (EJ)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you [ad]face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ 4 Yet hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says Yahweh 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 (EK)burn spices for you; and (EL)they will lament for you, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares Yahweh.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke (EM)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the military force of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, that is, (EN)Lachish and (EO)Azekah, for they alone remained as (EP)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.
8 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had (EQ)cut a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to (ER)proclaim [ae]release to them: 9 that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, a (ES)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that (ET)no one should enslave them, each being a Jew, his brother. 10 And all the (EU)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, so that no one should enslave them any longer; they obeyed and let them go free. 11 But afterwards they turned around and returned to themselves the male slaves and the female slaves, whom they had let go as free, and subdued them to be male slaves and female slaves.
12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I (EV)cut a covenant with your fathers in the day that I (EW)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, saying, 14 “(EX)At the end of seven years each of you shall let his Hebrew brother go who [af]has been sold to you and has served you six years, and you shall let him go to be free from you; but your fathers (EY)did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 Although recently you had turned and (EZ)done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming [ag]release to his neighbor, and you had (FA)cut a covenant before Me (FB)in the house which is called by My name. 16 Yet you (FC)turned and (FD)profaned My name, and each man [ah]returned to themselves his male slave and each man his female slave whom you had let go as free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be your male slaves and female slaves.”’
17 “Therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming [ai]release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am (FE)proclaiming a [aj]release to you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘to the (FF)sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a (FG)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men who have (FH)trespassed against My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant which they cut before Me, when they (FI)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— 19 the (FJ)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who (FK)seek their life. And their (FL)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21 (FM)And as for Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life and into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon which has (FN)gone away from you. 22 Behold, I am going to command,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will cause them to return to this city; and they will fight against it and (FO)capture it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a (FP)desolation (FQ)without inhabitant.’”
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