Bible Reading Plan

Jeremiah's Speech in the Temple

¹ At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim^(a) son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord : ² "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord 's temple and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all Judah's cities that are coming to worship there. Do not hold back a word.^{(b) 3} Perhaps they will listen and return—each from his evil way of life—so that I might relent^(c) concerning the disaster that I plan to do to them because of the evil of their deeds. ⁴ You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to Me by living according to My instruction that I set before you^{(d) 5} and by listening to the words of My servants the prophets^(e) I have been sending you time and time again,^[a] though you did not listen, ⁶ I will make this temple like Shiloh.^(f) I will make this city an object of cursing for all the nations of the earth."

Jeremiah Seized

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple of the Lord . ⁸ He finished the address the Lord had commanded him to deliver to all the people. Then the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, "You must surely die! ⁹ How dare you prophesy in the name of Yahweh, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin'!" Then all the people assembled against Jeremiah at the Lord 's temple.

¹⁰ When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went from the king's palace to the Lord 's temple and sat at the entrance of the New Gate.^{[b](g) 11} Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears."^(h)

Jeremiah's Defense

¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people, "The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this temple and city. ¹³ So now, correct your ways and deeds⁽ⁱ⁾ and obey the voice of the Lord your God so that He might relent concerning the disaster that He warned about. ¹⁴ As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵ But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood^(j) on yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the Lord has sent me to speak all these things directly to you."

Jeremiah Released

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, "This man doesn't deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God!"

¹⁷ Some of the elders of the land stood up^(k) and said to all the assembled people, ¹⁸ "Micah the Moreshite^(l) prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah^(m) and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the Lord 's favor,^[c](o) and did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster He had pronounced against them?^(p) We are about to bring great harm on ourselves!"

The Prophet Uriah

²⁰ Another man was also prophesying in the name of Yahweh—Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim.^(q) He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like all those of Jeremiah. ²¹ King Jehoiakim, all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, and the king tried to put him to death. When Uriah heard, he fled in fear and went to Egypt. ²² But King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor^(r) and certain other men with him went to Egypt. ²³ They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who executed him with the sword and threw his corpse into the burial place of the common people.^[d]

²⁴ But Ahikam^(s) son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

The Yoke of Babylon

¹ At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord :^{[b] 2} "This is what the Lord said to me: Make chains and yoke bars^(a) for yourself and put them on your neck. ³ Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon^(b) through messengers who are coming to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. ⁴ Command them to go to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters: ⁵ By My great strength and outstretched arm,^(c) I made the earth,^(d) and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.^{[c](e) 6} So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant^(f) Nebuchadnezzar,^(g) king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.^(h)

⁸ "As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"until through him I have destroyed it. ⁹ But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners,⁽ⁱ⁾ dreamers, fortune-tellers,^(j) or sorcerers^(k) who say to you, ‘Don't serve the king of Babylon!' ¹⁰ for they prophesy a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. ¹¹ But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate^[d] it and reside in it." This is the Lord 's declaration.

Warning to Zedekiah

¹² I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah^(l) in the same way: "Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why should you and your people die^(m) by the sword, famine, or plague as the Lord has threatened against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying a lie to you.^{(n) 15} ‘I have not sent them'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘and they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore, I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.'"

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and all these people, saying, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They are prophesying to you, claiming, "Look, very soon now the articles of the Lord 's temple will be brought back from Babylon."^(o) They are prophesying a lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?^{(p) 18} If they are indeed prophets and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them intercede with the Lord of Hosts not to let the articles that remain in the Lord 's temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem go to Babylon.' ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the water carts,^(q) and the rest of the articles that still remain in this city, ²⁰ those Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he deported Jeconiah^[e] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah^(r) and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the temple of the Lord , in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²² ‘They will be brought to Babylon and will remain there until I attend to them again.'^(s) This is the Lord 's declaration. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.'"^(t)

Hananiah's False Prophecy

¹ In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah,^(a) in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon^(b) said to me in the temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, ² "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.^{(c) 3} Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord 's temple^(d) that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. ⁴ And I will restore to this place Jeconiah^[a] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah^(e) who went to Babylon'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

Jeremiah's Response to Hananiah

⁵ The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord . ⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen!^(f) May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord 's temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! ⁷ Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster,^[b] and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies peace—only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent."^(g)

Hananiah Breaks Jeremiah's Yoke

¹⁰ The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.^{(h) 11} In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, "This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.'" Jeremiah the prophet then went on his way.

The Lord's Word against Hananiah

¹² The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: ¹³ "Go say to Hananiah: This is what the Lord says, ‘You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar.' ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says, ‘I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,⁽ⁱ⁾ and they will serve him.^(j) I have also put the wild animals under him.'"^(k)

¹⁵ The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie.^{(l) 16} Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord .'"^{(m) 17} And the prophet Hananiah died that year in the seventh month.

Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

¹ This is the text of the letter^(a) that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exiles, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar^(b) had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after King Jeconiah,^[a](c) the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. ³ The letter was sent by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah^(d) whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter stated:

²⁹ Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.

A Message about Shemaiah

³⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ "Send a message to all the exiles, saying: This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,^{(ad) 32} this is what the Lord says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people,^(ae) nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to My people"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"for he has preached rebellion against the Lord ."^(af)

Restoration from Captivity

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord . ² This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: "Write down on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you,^{(a) 3} for the days are certainly coming"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"when I will restore the fortunes^[a] of My people Israel and Judah"^(b)—the Lord 's declaration. "I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it."

⁴ These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. ⁵ Yes, this is what the Lord says:

⁸ "On that day"—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—"I will break his yoke from your neck^(e) and tear off your chains^(f) so strangers will never again enslave him.^{(g) 9} They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them."^(h)

Healing Zion's Wounds

¹² For this is what the Lord says:

Restoration of the Land

¹⁸ This is what the Lord says:

The Wrath of God

God's Relationship with His People

¹ "At that time"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"I will be the God of all the families of Israel,^(a) and they will be My people."

² This is what the Lord says:

God's People Brought Home

⁷ For this is what the Lord says:

Lament Turned to Joy

¹⁵ This is what the Lord says:

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:

Repentance and Restoration

²³ This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "When I restore their fortunes,^[g] they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, ‘May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement,^(y) holy mountain.'^{(z) 24} Judah and all its cities will live in it together—also farmers and those who move^[h] with the flocks— ²⁵ for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak."

²⁶ At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

²⁷ "The days are coming"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"when I will sow the house of Israel^(aa) and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸ Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,"^(ab) says the Lord . ²⁹ "In those days, it will never again be said:

³⁰ Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing.^(ad) Anyone who eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.

The New Covenant

³¹ "Look, the days are coming"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"when I will make a new covenant^(ae) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³² This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them"^(af)—the Lord 's declaration. ³³ "Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"—the Lord 's declaration. "I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. ³⁴ No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord ,'^(ag) for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them"—this is the Lord 's declaration. "For I will forgive their wrongdoing^(ah) and never again remember their sin."^(ai)

³⁵ This is what the Lord says:

³⁷ This is what the Lord says:

³⁸ "Look, the days are coming"—the Lord 's declaration—"when the city^[i] from the Tower of Hananel^(al) to the Corner Gate^(am) will be rebuilt for the Lord . ³⁹ A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb^(an) and then turn toward Goah. ⁴⁰ The whole valley—the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley^(ao) to the corner of the Horse Gate^(ap) to the east—will be holy to the Lord . It will never be uprooted or demolished again."

Jeremiah's Land Purchase

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah^(a) king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(b) 2} At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the guard's courtyard^(c) in the palace of the king of Judah. ³ Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: "Why are you prophesying, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon's king, and he will capture it. ⁴ Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the Chaldeans; indeed, he will certainly be handed over to Babylon's king. They will speak face to face^[a] and meet eye to eye.^{(d) 5} He will take Zedekiah to Babylon where he will stay until I attend to him'—this is the Lord 's declaration. ‘You will fight the Chaldeans, but you will not succeed'?"^(e)

⁶ Jeremiah replied, "The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷ Watch! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth^(f) for yourself, for you own the right of redemption^(g) to buy it.'

⁸ "Then my cousin Hanamel came to the guard's courtyard as the Lord had said and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord . ⁹ So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out to him the money^(h)—17 shekels^[b] of silver. ¹⁰ I recorded it on a scroll,⁽ⁱ⁾ sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver in the scales. ¹¹ I took the purchase agreement—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions and the open copy— ¹² and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch^(j) son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin^[c] Hanamel, the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard's courtyard.

¹³ "I instructed Baruch in their sight, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these scrolls—this purchase agreement with the sealed copy and this open copy—and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time. ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'^(k)

¹⁶ "After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord : ¹⁷ Oh, Lord God ! You Yourself made the heavens and earth^(l) by Your great power^(m) and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! ¹⁸ You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers' sins on their sons' laps after them,⁽ⁿ⁾ great and mighty God^(o) whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, ¹⁹ the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men in order to give to each person according to his ways and the result of his deeds.^{(p) 20} You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt^(q) and do so to this very day both in Israel and among mankind. You made a name^(r) for Yourself, as is the case today. ²¹ You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.^{(s) 22} You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(t) 23} They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your instructions.^(u) They failed to perform all You commanded them to do,^(v) and so You have brought all this disaster on them. ²⁴ Look! Siege ramps^(w) have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened. Look, You can see it! ²⁵ Yet You, Lord God , have said to me: Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses—even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!"

²⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷ "Look, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh.^(x) Is anything too difficult for Me? ²⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the Chaldeans,^(y) to Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar, and he will capture it. ²⁹ The Chaldeans who are going to fight against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses where incense has been burned to Baal on their rooftops and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to provoke Me to anger.^{(z) 30} From their youth, the Israelites and Judeans have done nothing but what is evil in My sight! They have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands"^(aa)—this is the Lord 's declaration— ³¹ "for this city has caused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from My presence,^{(ab) 32} because of all the evil the Israelites and Judeans have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings,^(ac) their officials, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. ³³ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them time and time again,^[d](ad) they do not listen and receive discipline. ³⁴ They have placed their detestable things^(ae) in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it. ³⁵ They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech^(af)—something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought^[e] that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

³⁶ "Now therefore, this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said, ‘It has been handed over to Babylon's king through sword, famine, and plague': ³⁷ I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My anger, rage and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety.^{(ag) 38} They will be My people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ I will give them one heart^(ah) and one way so that for their good and for the good of their descendants after them, they will fear Me always.

⁴⁰ "I will make an everlasting covenant with them:^(ai) I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me. ⁴¹ I will take delight in them to do what is good for them, and with all My heart and mind I will faithfully plant them in this land.^(aj)

⁴² "For this is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on these people,^(ak) so am I about to bring on them all the good I am promising them. ⁴³ Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying,^(al) ‘It's a desolation^(am) without man or beast; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans!' ⁴⁴ Fields will be purchased with silver, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed,^(an) and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin,^(ao) in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah's cities—the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev—because I will restore their fortunes."^[f]

This is the Lord 's declaration.

Israel's Restoration

¹ While he was still confined in the guard's courtyard,^(a) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time: ² "The Lord who made the earth,^[a] the Lord who forms it to establish it, Yahweh is His name,^(b) says this: ³ Call to Me and I will answer you^(c) and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.^{(d) 4} For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and the palaces of Judah's kings, the ones torn down for defense against the siege ramps and the sword:^{(e) 5} The people coming to fight the Chaldeans will fill the houses with the corpses of their own men that I strike down in My wrath and rage. I have hidden My face^(f) from this city because of all their evil. ⁶ Yet I will certainly bring health^(g) and healing to it and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance^[b] of peace and truth.^{(h) 7} I will restore the fortunes^[c] of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times.^{(i) 8} I will purify them from all the wrongs they have committed against Me,^(j) and I will forgive all the wrongs they have committed against Me, rebelling against Me. ⁹ This city will bear on My behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory^(k) before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I will do for them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace^(l) I will bring about for them.

¹⁰ "This is what the Lord says: In this place, which you say is a ruin,^(m) without man or beast—that is, in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets that are a desolation without man, without inhabitant, and without beast—there will be heard again ¹¹ a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride,⁽ⁿ⁾ and the voice of those saying,

as they bring thank offerings to the temple of the Lord . For I will restore the fortunes^[d] of the land as in former times, says the Lord .

¹² "This is what the Lord of Hosts says: In this desolate place—without man or beast—and in all its cities there will once more be a grazing land where shepherds may rest flocks.^{(o) 13} The flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them^(p) in the cities of the hill country,^(q) the cities of the Judean foothills, the cities of the Negev, the land of Benjamin—the cities surrounding Jerusalem and Judah's cities, says the Lord .

God's Covenant with David

¹⁷ "For this is what the Lord says: David will never fail to have a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.^{(u) 18} The Levitical priests will never fail to have a man always before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices."^(v)

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ "This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time,^{(w) 21} then also My covenant with My servant David^(x) may be broken so that he will not have a son reigning on his throne, and the Levitical priests will not be My ministers.^{(y) 22} The hosts of heaven cannot be counted; the sand of the sea cannot be measured.^(z) So, too, I will make the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister to Me innumerable."

²³ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ "Have you not noticed what these people have said? They say, ‘The Lord has rejected the two families He had chosen.'^(aa) My people are treated with contempt and no longer regarded as a nation among them. ²⁵ This is what the Lord says: If I do not keep My covenant with the day and with the night and fail to establish the fixed order of heaven and earth,^{(ab) 26} then I might also reject the seed of Jacob and of My servant David—not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore their fortunes^[e] and have compassion on them."^(ac)

Jeremiah's Word to King Zedekiah

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,^(a) all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control,^(b) and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities: ² "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^(c) and he will burn it down. ³ As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;^[a](d) you will go to Babylon.

⁴ "Yet hear the Lord 's word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; ⁵ you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you.^(e) ‘Our king is dead!'^[b] will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word." This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ while the king of Babylon's army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah's remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah,^(f) for they were the only ones left of Judah's fortified cities.

The People and Their Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(g) to them, ⁹ so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.^{(h) 10} All the officials and people who entered into covenant to free their male and female slaves—in order not to enslave them any longer—obeyed and freed them. ¹¹ Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had freed and forced them to become slaves again.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord : ¹³ "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant⁽ⁱ⁾ with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying: ¹⁴ At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself^[c] to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you.^(j) But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention. ¹⁵ Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me^(k) at the temple called by My name.^{(l) 16} But you have changed your minds^(m) and profaned My name.⁽ⁿ⁾ Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed to go wherever they wanted, and you have again subjugated them to be your slaves.

¹⁷ "Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you"^(o)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth's kingdoms. ¹⁸ As for those who disobeyed My covenant,^(p) not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.^{(q) 19} The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf ²⁰ will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^{(r) 21} I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who want to take their lives, to the king of Babylon's army that is withdrawing. ²² I am about to give the command"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down.^(s) I will make Judah's cities a desolation,^(t) without inhabitant."

The Rechabites' Example

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim^(a) son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² "Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,^(b) and bring them to one of the chambers^(c) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine."

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴ and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,^(d) who had a chamber near the officials' chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, "Drink wine!"

⁶ But they replied, "We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,^(e) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. ⁷ You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.'^{(f) 8} We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven't drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land,^(g) we said: Come, let's go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies. So we have been living in Jerusalem."

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline^(h) by listening to My words?"—this is the Lord 's declaration. ¹⁴ "The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor's command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,^[a](i) and you have not obeyed Me! ¹⁵ Time and time again^[b] I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life,^(j) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.^(k) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me.^{(l) 16} Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor's command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed Me. ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord , the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer."

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to always stand before Me.'"^(m)

Jeremiah Dictates a Scroll

¹ In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^(a) king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord : ² "Take a scroll,^(b) and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah's reign until today. ³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their wrongdoing^(c) and their sin."

⁴ So Jeremiah summoned Baruch^(d) son of Neriah. At Jeremiah's dictation,^[a] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. ⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, "I am restricted;^(e) I cannot enter the temple of the Lord , ⁶ so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation^[b]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. You must also read them in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord ,^(f) and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are great." ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord 's temple he read the Lord 's words from the scroll.

Baruch Reads the Scroll

⁹ In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month,^(g) all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah's cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord .^{(h) 10} Then at the Lord 's temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,⁽ⁱ⁾ in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate^(j) of the Lord 's temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah's words from the scroll.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the scribe's chamber in the king's palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,^(k) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, "Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, "Sit down and read it in our hearing." So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, "We must surely tell the king all these things." ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, "Tell us—how did you write all these words? At his dictation?"^[c]

¹⁸ Baruch said to them, "At his dictation.^[d] He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink."

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

¹⁹ The officials said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are." ²⁰ Then they came to the king at the courtyard, having deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters^(l) with a fire burning in front of him. ²³ As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll^[e] with a scribe's knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier. ²⁴ As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified^(m) or tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation,^[f] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ "Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. ²⁹ You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it:⁽ⁿ⁾ The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?' ³⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.^{(o) 31} I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their wrongdoing. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen."

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation^[g] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim,^(p) Judah's king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Jerusalem's Last Days

¹ Zedekiah son of Josiah^(a) reigned as king in the land of Judah^(b) in place of Jehoiachin^[a](c) son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king. ² He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord ^(d) that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal^(e) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah^(f) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us!" ⁴ Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks^[b] among the people, for they had not yet put him into the prison.^{(g) 5} Pharaoh's army had left Egypt,^(h) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah's king,⁽ⁱ⁾ who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you,^(j) is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.^{(k) 9} This is what the Lord says: Don't deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,' for they will not leave. ¹⁰ Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,^(l) and there remained among them only the badly wounded^[c] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down."

Jeremiah's Imprisonment

¹¹ When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, ¹² Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there^(m) among the people. ¹³ But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,⁽ⁿ⁾ an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans."

¹⁴ "That's a lie," Jeremiah replied. "I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!" Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan^(o) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^(p) and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

¹⁷ King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, "Is there a word from the Lord ?"^(q)

"There is," Jeremiah responded, and he continued, "You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."^{(r) 18} Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land'?^{(s) 20} So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.^(t) Don't send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there."

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard's courtyard.^(u) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker's street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard.

Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern

¹ Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal^[a] son of Shelemiah,^(a) and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: ² "This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.'^{(b) 3} This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon's army,^(c) and he will capture it.'"

⁴ The officials then said to the king, "This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but disaster."^(d)

⁵ King Zedekiah said, "Here he is; he's in your hands since the king can't do anything against you." ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the guard's courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.^(e)

⁷ But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official employed in the king's palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,^{(f) 8} Ebed-melech went from the king's palace and spoke to the king: ⁹ "My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city."^(g)

¹⁰ So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, "Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies."

¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king's palace to a place below the storehouse.^[b] From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹² Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, "Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes." Jeremiah did so, ¹³ and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard's courtyard.

Zedekiah's Final Meeting with Jeremiah

¹⁴ King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord 's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; don't hide anything from me."

¹⁵ Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, you will kill me, won't you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway."

¹⁶ King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private,^(h) "As the Lord lives, who has given us this life,⁽ⁱ⁾ I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who want to take your life."

¹⁷ Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord , the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon,^(j) then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. ¹⁸ But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.'"

¹⁹ But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me."^(k)

²⁰ "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict^[c] that the Lord has shown me: ²² ‘All the women^[d] who remain in the palace of Judah's king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say:

²³ All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans.^(l) You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.'"

²⁴ Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these things or you will die. ²⁵ If the officials hear that I have spoken with you^(m) and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?' ²⁶ then you will tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"^{(n) 27} When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard. ²⁸ Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.^[g]

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

¹ In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it. ² In the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into. ³ All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim^[a] the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon's king.

⁴ When he saw them, Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.^{(a) 5} However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains^[b] of Jericho, arrested him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.

⁶ At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah's nobles. ⁷ Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.^{(b) 8} The Chaldeans next burned down the king's palace and the people's houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards,^(c) deported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who had remained. ¹⁰ However, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.^(d)

Jeremiah Freed by Nebuchadnezzar

¹¹ Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah, saying: ¹² "Take him, look after him, and don't let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says." ¹³ Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon ¹⁴ had Jeremiah brought from the guard's courtyard^(e) and turned him over to Gedaliah^(f) son of Ahikam,^(g) son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard's courtyard:^{(h) 16} "Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite:⁽ⁱ⁾ This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill My words for harm and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day. ¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and you will not be handed over to the men you fear. ¹⁸ Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war."^(j) This is the Lord 's declaration.

Jeremiah Stays in Judah

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, released him at Ramah.^(a) When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "The Lord your God decreed this disaster on this place,^{(b) 3} and the Lord has fulfilled it. He has done just what He decreed. Because you people have sinned against the Lord ^(c) and have not obeyed Him, this thing has happened. ⁴ Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands.^(d) If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther.^[a] Look—the whole land is in front of you.^(e) Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there." ⁵ When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him: "Return^[b] to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever you want to go." So the captain of the guard gave him a ration^(f) and a gift^(g) and released him. ⁶ Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah,^(h) and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.

Gedaliah Advises Peace

⁷ When all the commanders of the armies in the field—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children from the poorest of the land who had not been deported to Babylon, ⁸ they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael⁽ⁱ⁾ son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, "Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.^{(j) 10} As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent^[c] you before the Chaldeans^(k) who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured."

¹¹ When all the Judeans in Moab^(l) and among the Ammonites and in^(m) Edom and in all the other lands⁽ⁿ⁾ also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them, ¹² they all returned from all the places where they had been banished^(o) and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.

¹³ Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and warned him, "Don't you realize that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah^(p) to kill you?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, "Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and scatter all of Judah that has gathered to you so that the remnant of Judah would perish?"^(q)

¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do that! What you're saying about Ishmael is a lie."

Gedaliah Assassinated by Ishmael

¹ In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king's chief officers, came with 10 men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah, ² but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the 10 men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.^(a)

⁴ On the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one knew yet, ⁵ 80 men came from Shechem, Shiloh,^(b) and Samaria^(c) who had shaved their beards,^(d) torn their garments, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the Lord .^{(e) 6} Ishmael son of Nethaniah came out of Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. When he encountered them, he said: "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!" ⁷ But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into^[a] a cistern.

⁸ However, there were 10 men among them who said to Ishmael, "Don't kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!" So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions. ⁹ Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one^[b] that King Asa had made in the encounter with Baasha king of Israel.^(f) Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

¹⁰ Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah including the daughters of the king—all those who remained in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.^(g)

The Captives Rescued by Johanan

¹¹ When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies^(h) with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done, ¹² they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah and found him by the great pool in Gibeon.^{(i) 13} When all the people with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they rejoiced, ¹⁴ and all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and rejoined Johanan son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites. ¹⁶ Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam—men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷ They left, stopping in Geruth Chimham,^(j) which is near Bethlehem, in order to make their way into Egypt, ¹⁸ away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed in the land.^(k)

The People Seek Jeremiah's Counsel

¹ Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah,^(a) Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest,^(b) approached ² Jeremiah the prophet and said, "May our petition come before you;^(c) pray to the Lord your God on our behalf,^(d) on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many,^(e) as you can see with your own eyes), ³ that the Lord your God may tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do."

⁴ So Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard. I will now pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and every word that the Lord answers you I will tell you; I won't withhold a word from you."^(f)

⁵ And they said to Jeremiah, "As for every word the Lord your God sends you to tell us, if we don't act accordingly, may the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us.^{(g) 6} Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us.^(h) We will certainly obey the voice of the Lord our God!"

Jeremiah's Advice to Stay

⁷ Now at the end of 10 days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, ⁸ and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.

⁹ He said to them, "This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before Him: ¹⁰ ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you,⁽ⁱ⁾ and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster^(j) that I have brought on you. ¹¹ Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon^(k) whom you now fear; don't be afraid of him'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘because I am with you to save you^(l) and deliver you from him. ¹² I will grant you compassion,^(m) and he^[a] will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil. ¹³ But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,'⁽ⁿ⁾ so as not to obey the voice of the Lord your God, ¹⁴ and if you say, ‘No, instead we'll go to the land of Egypt^(o) where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram's horn^(p) or hunger for food, and we'll live there,' ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord , remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt^(q) and live there for a while, ¹⁶ then the sword^(r) you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels^[b] there to Egypt, and you will die there. ¹⁷ All who resolve to go to Egypt to live there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no one escape or survive from the disaster I will bring on them.'

¹⁸ "For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem's residents,^(s) so will My fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, scorn,^(t) execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.' ¹⁹ The Lord has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah: ‘Don't go to Egypt.' Know for certain that I have warned you today!^{(u) 20} You have led your own selves astray because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we'll act accordingly.' ²¹ For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in everything He has sent me to tell you. ²² Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to live for a while."

Jeremiah's Counsel Rejected

¹ When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God—all these words the Lord their God had sent him to give them— ² then Azariah^[a] son of Hoshaiah,^(a) Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other arrogant men responded to Jeremiah, "You are speaking a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to live there for a while!' ³ Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!"

⁴ So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah. ⁵ Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies took the whole remnant of Judah,^(b) those who had returned from all the nations where they had been banished to live in the land of Judah for a while— ⁶ the men, women, children, king's daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan,^(c) along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah— ⁷ and they went to the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the Lord . They went as far as Tahpanhes.^(d)

God's Sign to the People in Egypt

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes: ⁹ "Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh's palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men ¹⁰ and tell them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will pitch his pavilion over them. ¹¹ He will come and strike down the land of Egypt^(e)—those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword,^(f) to the sword. ¹² I^[b] will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt's gods,^(g) and he will burn them and take them prisoner. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off^[c] his garment,^(h) and he will leave there unscathed. ¹³ He will smash the sacred pillars of the sun temple^[d][e] in the land of Egypt and burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods."

God's Judgment against His People in Egypt

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—at Migdol,^(a) Tahpanhes,^(b) Memphis,^(c) and in the land of Pathros:^{(d) 2} "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah's cities; look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them ³ because of their evil ways that provoked Me to anger,^(e) going and burning incense to serve other gods^(f) that they, you, and your fathers did not know. ⁴ So I sent you all My servants the prophets time and time again,^[a] saying: Don't do this detestable thing that I hate. ⁵ But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods. ⁶ So My fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets^(g) so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.

⁷ "So now, this is what the Lord , the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, child and infant^(h) from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant. ⁸ You are provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to live for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an object of cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.^{(i) 9} Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, the evils of Judah's kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed My instruction or My statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.

¹¹ "Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you to bring disaster,^(j) to cut off all Judah. ¹² And I will take away the remnant of Judah,^(k) those who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to live there for a while; they will meet their end. All of them in the land of Egypt will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an object of cursing, scorn,^(l) execration, and disgrace. ¹³ I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague. ¹⁴ Then the remnant of Judah—those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt—will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing^[b] to return to live,^(m) for they will not return except for a few fugitives."

The People's Stubborn Response

¹⁵ However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by—a great assembly—and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah, ¹⁶ "As for the word you spoke to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! ¹⁷ Instead, we will do everything we said we would: burn incense to the queen of heaven^[c] and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah's cities⁽ⁿ⁾ and in Jerusalem's streets. Then we had enough food and good things and saw no disaster, ¹⁸ but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end."

¹⁹ And the women said,^[d] "When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands' knowledge^(o) that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"

²⁰ But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him: ²¹ "As for the incense you burned in Judah's cities^(p) and in Jerusalem's streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind. ²² The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today. ²³ Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn't obey the Lord 's voice^(q) and didn't follow His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today."

²⁴ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord , all Judah who are in the land of Egypt.^{(r) 25} This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, "We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her." Go ahead, confirm your vows! Pay your vows!'

²⁶ "Therefore, hear the word of the Lord , all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by My great name,^(s) says Yahweh, that My name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt,^(t) saying, "As the Lord God lives." ²⁷ I am watching over them for disaster and not for good,^(u) and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off. ²⁸ Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number,^(v) and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to live there for a while, will know whose word stands, Mine or theirs! ²⁹ This will be a sign to you'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘that I am about to punish you in this place, so you may know that My words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.^{(w) 30} This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra,^(x) Egypt's king, to his enemies, to those who want to take his life, just as I handed over Judah's King Zedekiah^(y) to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who wanted to take his life.'"

The Lord's Message to Baruch

¹ This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah^(a) when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah's dictation^[a](b) in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:^{(c) 2} "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: ³ ‘You have said, "Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with^[b] groaning and have found no rest."'^(d)

⁴ "This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot^(e)—the whole land! ⁵ But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I am about to bring disaster on every living creature'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war^(f) wherever you go.'"

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations:^(a)

Prophecies against Egypt

² About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt's king,^(b) which was defeated at Carchemish^(c) on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:^(d)

¹³ This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:^(p)

²⁵ The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes,^(ac) along with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings—Pharaoh and those trusting in him. ²⁶ I will hand them over to those who want to take their lives^(ad)—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this,^(ae) it will be inhabited again as in ancient times."

This is the Lord 's declaration.

Reassurance for Israel