let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

¹³Sing to the LORD;

praise the LORD!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴Cursed be the day

on which I was born!

The day when my mother bore me,

let it not be blessed!

¹⁵Cursed be the man

who brought the news to my father,

“A son is born to you,”

making him very glad.

¹⁶Let that man be like the cities

which the LORD overthrew without pity;

let him hear a cry in the morning

and an alarm at noon,

¹⁷because he did not kill me in the womb;

so my mother would have been my grave,

and her womb for ever great.

¹⁸Why did I come forth from the womb

to see toil and sorrow,

and spend my days in shame?

3 Then Jeremi'ah said to them: ⁴“Thus you shall say to Zedeki'ah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chalde'ans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them together into the midst of this city. ⁵I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. ⁶And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷Afterward, says the LORD, I will give Zedeki'ah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them with the edge of the sword; he shall not pity them, or spare them, or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chalde'ans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. ¹⁰For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, ¹²O house of David! Thus says the LORD:

“‘Execute justice in the morning,

and deliver from the hand of the oppressor

him who has been robbed,

lest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

because of your evil doings.’”

¹³“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,

O rock of the plain,

says the LORD;

you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us,

or who shall enter our habitations?’

¹⁴I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,

says the LORD;

I will kindle a fire in her forest,

and it shall devour all that is round about her.”

“‘You are as Gilead to me,

as the summit of Lebanon,

yet surely I will make you a desert,

an uninhabited city.^k

⁷I will prepare destroyers against you,

each with his weapons;

and they shall cut down your choicest cedars,

and cast them into the fire.

8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this great city?” ⁹And they will answer, “Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

¹⁰Weep not for him who is dead,

nor bemoan him;

but weep bitterly for him who goes away,

for he shall return no more

to see his native land.

11 For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, ¹²but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”

¹³“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

and his upper rooms by injustice;

who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing,

and does not give him his wages;

¹⁴who says, ‘I will build myself a great house

with spacious upper rooms,’

and cuts out windows for it,

paneling it with cedar,

and painting it with vermilion.

¹⁵Do you think you are a king

because you compete in cedar?

Did not your father eat and drink

and do justice and righteousness?

Then it was well with him.

¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy;

then it was well.

Is not this to know me?

says the LORD.

¹⁷But you have eyes and heart

only for your dishonest gain,

for shedding innocent blood,

and for practicing oppression and violence.”

¹⁸Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoi'akim the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah:

“They shall not lament for him, saying,

‘Ah my brother!’ or ‘Ah sister!’

They shall not lament for him, saying,

‘Ah lord!’ or ‘Ah his majesty!’

¹⁹With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried,

dragged and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

²⁰“Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,

and lift up your voice in Bashan;

cry from Ab'arim,

for all your lovers are destroyed.

²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity,

but you said, ‘I will not listen.’

This has been your way from your youth,

that you have not obeyed my voice.

²²The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,

and your lovers shall go into captivity;

then you will be ashamed and confounded

because of all your wickedness.

²³O inhabitant of Lebanon,

nested among the cedars,

how you will groan^l when pangs come upon you,

pain as of a woman with labor pains!”

24 “As I live, says the LORD, though Coni'ah the son of Jehoi'akim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off ²⁵and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chalde'ans. ²⁶I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. ²⁷But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”

²⁸Is this man Coni'ah a despised, broken pot,

a vessel no one cares for?

Why are he and his children hurled and cast

into a land which they do not know?

²⁹O land, land, land,

hear the word of the LORD!

³⁰Thus says the LORD:

“Write this man down as childless,

a man who shall not succeed in his days;

for none of his offspring shall succeed

in sitting on the throne of David,

and ruling again in Judah.”

5 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when men shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ⁸but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he^m had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

9 Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,

all my bones shake;

I am like a drunken man,

like a man overcome by wine,

because of the LORD

and because of his holy words.

¹⁰For the land is full of adulterers;

because of the curse the land mourns,

and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.

Their course is evil,

and their might is not right.

¹¹“Both prophet and priest are ungodly;

even in my house I have found their wickedness,

says the LORD.

¹²Therefore their way shall be to them

like slippery paths in the darkness,

into which they shall be driven and fall;

for I will bring evil upon them

in the year of their punishment,

says the LORD.

¹³In the prophets of Samar'ia

I saw an unsavory thing:

they prophesied by Ba'al

and led my people Israel astray.

¹⁴But in the prophets of Jerusalem

I have seen a horrible thing:

they commit adultery and walk in lies;

they strengthen the hands of evildoers,

so that no one turns from his wickedness;

all of them have become like Sodom to me,

and its inhabitants like Gomor'rah.”

“Behold, I will feed them with wormwood,

and give them poisoned water to drink;

for from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodliness has gone forth into all the land.”

¹⁸For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD

to perceive and to hear his word,

or who has given heed to his word and listened?

¹⁹Behold, the storm of the LORD!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁰The anger of the LORD will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intents of his mind.

In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

²¹“I did not send the prophets,

yet they ran;

I did not speak to them,

yet they prophesied.

²²But if they had stood in my council,

then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,

and they would have turned them from their evil way,

and from the evil of their doings.

4 Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁵“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chalde'ans. ⁶I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them. ⁷I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

⁸“But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedeki'ah the king of Judah, his princes, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹I will make them a horror^p to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.”

8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, ⁹behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, says the LORD, and for Nebuchadrez'zar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about; I will utterly destroy them, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting reproach.^{q 10}Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ¹²Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chalde'ans, for their iniquity, says the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. ¹³I will bring upon that land all the words which I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremi'ah prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

15 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword which I am sending among them.”

27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I am sending among you.’

28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! ²⁹For behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of hosts.’

30 “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘The LORD will roar from on high,

and from his holy habitation utter his voice;

he will roar mightily against his fold,

and shout, like those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,

for the LORD has an indictment against the nations;

he is entering into judgment with all flesh,

and the wicked he will put to the sword,

says the LORD.’

³²“Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Behold, evil is going forth

from nation to nation,

and a great tempest is stirring

from the farthest parts of the earth!

33 “And those slain by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

³⁴“Wail, you shepherds, and cry,

and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,

for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,

and you shall fall like choice rams.^s

³⁵No refuge will remain for the shepherds,

nor escape for the lords of the flock.

³⁶Listen, the cry of the shepherds,

and the wail of the lords of the flock!

For the LORD is despoiling their pasture,

³⁷and the peaceful folds are devastated,

because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

³⁸Like a lion he has left his den,

for their land has become a waste

because of the sword of the oppressor,

and because of his fierce anger.”

7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremi'ah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. ⁸And when Jeremi'ah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! ⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremi'ah in the house of the LORD.

10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremi'ah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” ¹⁷And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸“Micah of Mo'resheth prophesied in the days of Hezeki'ah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uri'ah the son of Shemai'ah from Kir'iath-je'arim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremi'ah. ²¹And when King Jehoi'akim, with all his warriors and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uri'ah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²²Then King Jehoi'akim sent to Egypt certain men, Elna'than the son of Achbor and others with him, ²³and they fetched Uri'ah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoi'akim, who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴But the hand of Ahi'kam the son of Sha'phan was with Jeremi'ah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

8 “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,^w your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the LORD.”’”

12 To Zedeki'ah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. ¹³Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵I have not sent them, says the LORD, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? ¹⁸If they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ¹⁹For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels which are left in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconi'ah the son of Jehoi'akim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²²They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I give attention to them, says the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”

5 Then the prophet Jeremi'ah spoke to Hanani'ah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD; ⁶and the prophet Jeremi'ah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD make the words which you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. ⁷Yet hear now this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.”

10 Then the prophet Hanani'ah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremi'ah the prophet, and broke them. ¹¹And Hanani'ah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremi'ah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet Hanani'ah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremi'ah the prophet, the word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ¹³“Go, tell Hanani'ah, ‘Thus says the LORD: You have broken wooden bars, but I^x will make in their place bars of iron. ¹⁴For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke of servitude to Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” ¹⁵And Jeremi'ah the prophet said to the prophet Hanani'ah, “Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.’”

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hanani'ah died.

10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 “Because you have said, ‘The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’— ¹⁶Thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: ¹⁷‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they did not heed my words, says the LORD, which I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, says the LORD.’— ²⁰Hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ²¹‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning A'hab the son of Kolai'ah and Zedeki'ah the son of Ma-asei'ah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. ²²Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The LORD make you like Zedeki'ah and A'hab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³because they have committed folly in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words which I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, says the LORD.’”

24 To Shemai'ah of Nehel'am you shall say: ²⁵ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephani'ah the son of Ma-asei'ah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶‘The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoi'ada the priest, to have charge in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and collar. ²⁷Now why have you not rebuked Jeremi'ah of An'athoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

29 Zephani'ah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremi'ah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ³¹“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemai'ah of Nehel'am: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³²therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemai'ah of Nehel'am and his descendants; he shall not have any one living among this people to see^a the good that I will do to my people, says the LORD, for he has talked rebellion against the LORD.’”

4 These are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the LORD:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

⁶Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! that day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break the yoke from off their^b neck, and I will burst their^b bonds, and strangers shall no more make servants of them.^c * ⁹But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the LORD,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, I will save you from afar,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with you to save you,

says the LORD;

I will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

I will chasten you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the LORD:

Your hurt is incurable,

and your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

no healing for you.

¹⁴All your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,

the punishment of a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

because your sins are flagrant.

¹⁵Why do you cry out over your hurt?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

because your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

those who despoil you shall become a spoil,

and all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷For I will restore health to you,

and your wounds I will heal,

says the LORD,

because they have called you an outcast:

‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the LORD:

Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

¹⁹Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who make merry.

I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

²⁰Their children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me;

and I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹Their prince shall be one of themselves,

their ruler shall come forth from their midst;

I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

for who would dare of himself to approach me?

says the LORD.

²²And you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.”

²³Behold the storm of the LORD!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intents of his mind.

In the latter days you will understand this.

²Thus says the LORD:

“The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness;

when Israel sought for rest,

³ the LORD appeared to him^d from afar.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

⁴Again I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

Again you shall adorn yourself with timbrels,

and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

⁵Again you shall plant vineyards

upon the mountains of Samar'ia;

the planters shall plant,

and shall enjoy the fruit.

⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in the hill country of E'phraim:

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the LORD our God.’”

⁷For thus says the LORD:

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

‘The LORD has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel.’

⁸Behold, I will bring them from the north country,

and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

the woman with child and her who has labor pains, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

⁹With weeping they shall come,

and with consolations^e I will lead them back,

I will make them walk by brooks of water,

in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

for I am a father to Israel,

and E'phraim is my first-born.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,

and declare it in the islands afar off;

say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,

and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’

¹¹For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,

and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

their life shall be like a watered garden,

and they shall languish no more.

¹³Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

¹⁴I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

says the LORD.”

¹⁵Thus says the LORD:

“A voice is heard in Ra'mah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are not.” *

¹⁶Thus says the LORD:

“Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears;

for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD,

and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷There is hope for your future,

says the LORD,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

¹⁸I have heard E'phraim bemoaning,

‘You have chastened me, and I was chastened,

like an untrained calf;

bring me back that I may be restored,

for you are the LORD my God.

¹⁹For after I had turned away I repented;

and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;

I was ashamed, and I was confounded,

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

²⁰Is E'phraim my dear son?

Is he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

I do remember him still.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,

says the LORD.

²¹“Set up waymarks for yourself,

make yourself guideposts;

consider well the highway,

the road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

return to these your cities.

²²How long will you waver,

O faithless daughter?

For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth:

a woman protects a man.”

23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes:

‘The LORD bless you, O habitation of righteousness,

O holy hill!’

²⁴And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander^f with their flocks. ²⁵For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

26 Thereupon I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say:

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

31 * “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, and I showed myself their Master, says the LORD. ³³But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

³⁵Thus says the LORD,

who gives the sun for light by day

and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the LORD of hosts is his name:

³⁶“If this fixed order departs

from before me, says the LORD,

then shall the descendants of Israel cease

from being a nation before me for ever.”

³⁷Thus says the LORD:

“If the heavens above can be measured,

and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,

then I will cast off all the descendants of Israel

for all that they have done,

says the LORD.”

38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the tower of Hanan'el to the Corner Gate. ³⁹And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Ga'reb, and shall then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kid'ron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the LORD. It shall not be uprooted or overthrown any more for ever.”

6 Jeremi'ah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: ⁷Behold, Han'amel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field which is at An'athoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ ⁸Then Han'amel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Buy my field which is at An'athoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

9 “And I bought the field at An'athoth from Han'amel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. ¹¹Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; ¹²and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neri'ah son of Mah'seiah, in the presence of Han'amel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. ¹³I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ¹⁴‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. ¹⁵For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neri'ah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you, ¹⁸who show mercy to thousands, but repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of hosts, ¹⁹great in counsel and mighty in deed; whose eyes are open to all the ways of men, rewarding every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings; ²⁰who have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made you a name, as at this day. ²¹You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²and you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; ²³and they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law; they did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this evil come upon them. ²⁴Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chalde'ans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. ²⁵Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chalde'ans.’”

26 The word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ²⁷“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? ²⁸Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chalde'ans and into the hand of Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. ²⁹The Chalde'ans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs incense has been offered to Ba'al and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. ³⁰For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; the sons of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, says the LORD. ³¹This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight ³²because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their princes, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³They have turned to me their back and not their face; and though I have taught them persistently they have not listened to receive instruction. ³⁴They set up their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵They built the high places of Ba'al in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Mo'lech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: ³⁷Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. ³⁸And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. ⁴¹I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42 “For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. ⁴³Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hands of the Chalde'ans. ⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephe'lah, and in the cities of the Neg'eb; for I will restore their fortunes, says the LORD.”

10 “Thus says the LORD: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again ¹¹the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD:

‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts,

for the LORD is good,

for his mercy endures for ever!’

12 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: In this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. ¹³In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephe'lah, and in the cities of the Neg'eb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the LORD.

14 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David; * and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

17 “For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to make sacrifices for ever.”

19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ²⁰“Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ²¹then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²²As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

23 The word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ²⁴“Have you not observed what these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two families which he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. ²⁵Thus says the LORD: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth, ²⁶then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his descendants to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy upon them.”

6 Then Jeremi'ah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedeki'ah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, ⁷when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, La'chish and Aze'kah; for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.

8 The word which came to Jeremi'ah from the LORD, after King Zedeki'ah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, ⁹that every one should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. ¹⁰And they obeyed, all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant that every one would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again; they obeyed and set them free. ¹¹But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. ¹²The word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah from the LORD: ¹³“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴‘At the end of six^l years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. ¹⁵You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name; ¹⁶but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves. ¹⁷Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, says the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before me, I will make like^m the calf which they cut in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf; ²⁰and I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. ²¹And Zedeki'ah king of Judah, and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. ²²Behold, I will command, says the LORD, and will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah: ¹³“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? says the LORD. ¹⁴The command which Jon'adab the son of Re'chab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept; and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. ¹⁵I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land which I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. ¹⁶The sons of Jon'adab the son of Re'chab have kept the command which their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. ¹⁷Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing on Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”

18 But to the house of the Re'chabites Jeremi'ah said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jon'adab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jon'adab the son of Re'chab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”

4 Then Jeremi'ah called Baruch the son of Neri'ah, and Baruch wrote upon a scroll at the dictation of Jeremi'ah all the words of the LORD which he had spoken to him. ⁵And Jeremi'ah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am debarred from going to the house of the LORD; ⁶so you are to go, and on a fast day in the hearing of all the people in the LORD’s house you shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll which you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. ⁷It may be that their supplication will come before the LORD, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” ⁸And Baruch the son of Neri'ah did all that Jeremi'ah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.

27 Now, after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch wrote at Jeremi'ah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁸“Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoi'akim the king of Judah has burned. ²⁹And concerning Jehoi'akim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” ³⁰Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoi'akim king of Judah, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. ³¹And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity; I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

32 Then Jeremi'ah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neri'ah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremi'ah all the words of the scroll which Jehoi'akim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.

3 King Zedeki'ah sent Jehu'cal the son of Shelemi'ah, and Zephani'ah the priest, the son of Ma-asei'ah, to Jeremi'ah the prophet, saying, “Pray for us to the LORD our God.” ⁴Now Jeremi'ah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. ⁵The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chalde'ans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

11 Now when the Chalde'an army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²Jeremi'ah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portionⁿ there among the people. ¹³When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Iri'jah the son of Shelemi'ah, son of Hanani'ah, seized Jeremi'ah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chalde'ans.” ¹⁴And Jeremi'ah said, “It is false; I am not deserting to the Chalde'ans.” But Iri'jah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. ¹⁵And the princes were enraged at Jeremi'ah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

16 When Jeremi'ah had come to the dungeon cells, and remained there many days, ¹⁷King Zedeki'ah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremi'ah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸Jeremi'ah also said to King Zedeki'ah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰Now hear, I beg you, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you, and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹So King Zedeki'ah gave orders, and they committed Jeremi'ah to the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

7 When E'bed-mel'ech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremi'ah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— ⁸E'bed-mel'ech went from the king’s house and said to the king, ⁹“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremi'ah the prophet by casting him into the cistern; and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” ¹⁰Then the king commanded E'bed-mel'ech, the Ethiopian, “Take three men with you from here, and lift Jeremi'ah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹So E'bed-mel'ech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of^o the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremi'ah in the cistern by ropes. ¹²Then E'bed-mel'ech the Ethiopian said to Jeremi'ah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremi'ah did so. ¹³Then they drew Jeremi'ah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

14 King Zedeki'ah sent for Jeremi'ah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremi'ah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” ¹⁵Jeremi'ah said to Zedeki'ah, “If I tell you, will you not be sure to put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶Then King Zedeki'ah swore secretly to Jeremi'ah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremi'ah said to Zedeki'ah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If you will surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chalde'ans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” ¹⁹King Zedeki'ah said to Jeremi'ah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chalde'ans, lest I be handed over to them and they abuse me.” ²⁰Jeremi'ah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. ²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me: ²²Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the princes of the king of Babylon and were saying,

‘Your trusted friends have deceived you

and prevailed against you;

now that your feet are sunk in the mire,

they turn away from you.’

24 Then Zedeki'ah said to Jeremi'ah, “Let no one know of these words and you shall not die. ²⁵If the princes hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ ²⁶then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” ²⁷Then all the princes came to Jeremi'ah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they left off speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. ²⁸And Jeremi'ah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

11 Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremi'ah through Nebu'zarad'an, the captain of the guard, saying, ¹²“Take him, look after him well and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” ¹³So Nebu'zarad'an the captain of the guard, Nebushaz'ban the Rab'saris, Ner'gal-share'zer the Rabmag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴sent and took Jeremi'ah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam, son of Sha'phan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.

15 The word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶“Go, and say to E'bed-mel'ech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfil my words against this city for evil and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷But I will deliver you on that day, says the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, says the LORD.’”

7 When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸they went to Gedali'ah at Mizpah—Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah, Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah, Serai'ah the son of Tan'humeth, the sons of E'phai the Netoph'athite, Jezani'ah the son of the Ma-ac'athite, they and their men. ⁹Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam, son of Sha'phan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chalde'ans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand for you before the Chalde'ans who will come to us; but as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab and among the Am'monites and in E'dom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam, son of Sha'phan, as governor over them, ¹²then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedali'ah at Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

13 Now Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedali'ah at Mizpah ¹⁴and said to him, “Do you know that Ba'alis the king of the Am'monites has sent Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah to take your life?” But Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam would not believe them. ¹⁵Then Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah spoke secretly to Gedali'ah at Mizpah, “Let me go and slay Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶But Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam said to Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ish'mael.”

4 On the day after the murder of Gedali'ah, before any one knew of it, ⁵eighty men arrived from She'chem and Shiloh and Samar'ia, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing cereal offerings and incense to present at the temple of the LORD. ⁶And Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam.” ⁷When they came into the city, Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah and the men with him slew them, and cast them into a cistern. ⁸But there were ten men among them who said to Ish'mael, “Do not kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not kill them with their companions.

9 Now the cistern into which Ish'mael cast all the bodies of the men whom he had slain was the large cistern^r which King Asa had made for defense against Ba'asha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethani'ah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰Then Ish'mael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah whom Nebu'zarad'an, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam. Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Am'monites.

11 But when Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil which Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah had done, ¹²they took all their men and went to fight against Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah. They came upon him at the great pool which is in Gib'eon. ¹³And when all the people who were with Ish'mael saw Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. ¹⁴So all the people whom Ish'mael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah. ¹⁵But Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah escaped from Joha'nan with eight men, and went to the Am'monites. Then Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah and all the leaders of the forces with him took all the rest of the people whom Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah had carried away captive^s from Mizpah after he had slain Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gib'eon. ¹⁷And they went and stayed at Ge'ruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt ¹⁸because of the Chalde'ans; for they were afraid of them, because Ish'mael the son of Nethani'ah had slain Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

7 At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah. ⁸Then he summoned Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, ⁹and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him: ¹⁰If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent of the evil which I did to you. ¹¹Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not fear him, says the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ¹²I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. ¹³But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God ¹⁴and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, or hear the sound of the trumpet, or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ ¹⁵then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, ¹⁶then the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow hard after you to Egypt; and there you shall die. ¹⁷All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the evil which I will bring upon them.

18 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. ¹⁹The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day ²⁰that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says declare to us and we will do it.’ ²¹And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. ²²Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

8 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremi'ah in Tah'panhes: ⁹“Take in your hands large stones, and hide them in the mortar in the pavement which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tah'panhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, ¹⁰and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrez'zar the king of Babylon, my servant, and he^u will set his throne above these stones which I have hid, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. ¹¹He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. ¹²He^v shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them and carry them away captive; and he shall clean the land of Egypt, as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin; and he shall go away from there in peace. ¹³He shall break the obelisks of He''liop'olis which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”

11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, to cut off all Judah. ¹²I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed; from the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine; and they shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. ¹³I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, ¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there; for they shall not return, except some fugitives.”

20 Then Jeremi'ah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: ²¹“As for the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember it?^y Did it not come into his mind? ²²The LORD could no longer bear your evil doings and the abominations which you committed; therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. ²³It is because you burned incense, and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies, that this evil has befallen you, as at this day.”

24 Jeremi'ah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, ²⁵Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! ²⁶Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’ ²⁷Behold, I am watching over them for evil and not for good; all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. ²⁸And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. ²⁹This shall be the sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for evil: ³⁰Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hoph'ra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedeki'ah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”

2 About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphra'tes at Car'chemish and which Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoi'akim the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah:

³“Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

⁴Harness the horses;

mount, O horsemen!

Take your stations with your helmets,

polish your spears,

put on your coats of mail!

⁵Why have I seen it?

They are dismayed

and have turned backward.

Their warriors are beaten down,

and have fled in haste;

they look not back—

terror on every side!

says the LORD.

⁶The swift cannot flee away,

nor the warrior escape;

in the north by the river Euphra'tes

they have stumbled and fallen.

⁷“Who is this, rising like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge?

⁸Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge.

He said, I will rise, I will cover the earth,

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.

⁹Advance, O horses,

and rage, O chariots!

Let the warriors go forth:

men of Ethiopia and Put who handle the shield,

men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

¹⁰That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,

a day of vengeance,

to avenge himself on his foes.

The sword shall devour and be sated,

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice

in the north country by the river Euphra'tes.

¹¹Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

there is no healing for you.

¹²The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

for warrior has stumbled against warrior;

they have both fallen together.”

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;

proclaim in Memphis and Tah'panhes;

Say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,

for the sword shall devour round about you.’

¹⁵Why has A'pis fled?^z

Why did not your bull stand?

Because the LORD thrust him down.

¹⁶Your multitude stumbled^a and fell,

and they said one to another,

Arise, and let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

because of the sword of the oppressor.’

¹⁷Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

¹⁸“As I live, says the King,

whose name is the LORD of hosts,

like Ta'bor among the mountains,

and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.

¹⁹Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,

O inhabitants of Egypt!

For Memphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, without inhabitant.

²⁰“A beautiful heifer is Egypt,

but a gadfly from the north has come upon her.

²¹Even her hired soldiers in her midst

are like fatted calves;

yes, they have turned and fled together,

they did not stand;

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

the time of their punishment.

²²“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;

for her enemies march in force,

and come against her with axes,

like those who fell trees.

²³They shall cut down her forest,

says the LORD,

though it is impenetrable,

because they are more numerous than locusts;

they are without number.

²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame,

she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”