Jeremiah 25-34

New American Standard Bible

Prophecy of the Captivity

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(A)fourth year of ^(B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(C)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ²the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(D)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ³“From the ^(E)thirteenth year of ^(F)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^[a]these ^(G)twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^(H)again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴And the Lord has sent to you all His ^(I)servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵saying, ‘^(J)Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers ^(K)forever and ever; ⁶and ^(L)do not follow other gods to ^[b]serve them and to ^[c]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.’ ⁷Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order to ^(M)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

⁸“Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹behold, I will ^(N)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(O)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will ^[d]completely destroy them and ^(P)make them an object of horror and ^[e]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. ¹⁰Moreover, I will ^(Q)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the ^(R)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹^(S)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for ^(T)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

¹²‘Then it will be ^(U)when seventy years are completed I will ^(V)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(W)I will make it an everlasting desolation. ¹³I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in ^(X)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(Y)all the nations. ¹⁴(^[f]For ^(Z)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(AA)repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

¹⁵For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this ^(AB)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. ¹⁶Then they will ^(AC)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and ^(AD)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: ¹⁸To ^(AE)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, ^[g]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹To ^(AF)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; ²⁰and to all the ^(AG)foreign ^[h]people, all the kings of the ^(AH)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(AI)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(AJ)Ashdod); ²¹To ^(AK)Edom, ^(AL)Moab, and the sons of ^(AM)Ammon; ²²and to all the kings of ^(AN)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of ^(AO)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; ²³and to ^(AP)Dedan, Tema, ^(AQ)Buz, and all who ^(AR)trim the corners of their hair; ²⁴and to all the kings of ^(AS)Arabia and all the kings of the ^(AT)foreign ^[i]people who live in the desert; ²⁵and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(AU)Elam, and all the kings of ^(AV)Media; ²⁶and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(AW)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of ^[j]^(AX)Sheshach shall drink it after them.

²⁷“And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “^(AY)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the ^(AZ)sword which I am sending among you.”’ ²⁸And if they ^(BA)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(BB)You shall certainly drink! ²⁹For behold, I am ^(BC)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is ^(BD)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for ^(BE)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’

³⁰“Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

‘The ^(BF)Lord will ^(BG)roar from on high
And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar forcefully against His ^[k]fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the Lord has ^(BH)a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into ^(BI)judgment with ^[l]humanity;
As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

³²This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, evil is going out
From ^(BJ)nation to nation,
And a great ^(BK)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.

³³“Those ^(BL)put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ^[m]other. They will ^(BM)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like ^(BN)dung on the face of the ground.

³⁴Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
^(BO)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your ^(BP)slaughter and your dispersions ^[n]have come,
And you will fall like a precious vessel.
³⁵^[o]There will be ^(BQ)no sanctuary for the shepherds,
Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
³⁶Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
³⁷And the peaceful ^(BR)grazing places are devastated
Because of the ^(BS)fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸He has left His hiding place ^(BT)like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the ^[p]oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”

Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(BU)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘^(BV)Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(BW)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(BX)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(BY)Do not omit a word! ³^(BZ)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and ^(CA)I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ⁴And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(CB)If you do not listen to Me, to ^(CC)walk in My Law which I have set before you, ⁵to listen to the words of ^(CD)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; ⁶then I will make this house like ^(CE)Shiloh, and I will make this city a ^(CF)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷The ^(CG)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “^(CH)You must die! ⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(CI)in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And ^(CJ)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the ^(CK)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the ^(CL)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets ^(CM)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(CN)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(CO)against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^(CP)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³Now then, ^(CQ)reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴But as for me, behold, ^(CR)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. ¹⁵Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(CS)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words ^[q]so that you hear them.”

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people ^(CT)said to the priests and the prophets, “No ^(CU)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷Then ^(CV)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸“^[r]^(CW)Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies has said:

“^(CX)Zion will be plowed like a field,
And Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins,
And the ^(CY)mountain of the house like the ^[s]high places of a forest.”’

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not ^(CZ)fear the Lord and plead for the favor of the Lord, and ^(DA)the Lord relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(DB)committing a great evil against our own lives!”

²⁰Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(DC)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. ²¹When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(DD)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he ^(DE)fled and went to Egypt. ²²Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(DF)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt. ²³And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(DG)killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the ^[t]burial place of the ^[u]common people.

²⁴But the hand of ^(DH)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(DI)not handed over to the people to put him to death.

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of ^[v]^(DJ)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— ²this is what the Lord has said to me: “Make for yourself ^(DK)restraints and ^(DL)yokes and put them on your neck, ³and send ^[w]word to the king of ^(DM)Edom, the king of ^(DN)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(DO)Ammon, the king of ^(DP)Tyre, and to the king of ^(DQ)Sidon ^[x]by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴Order them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵‘^(DR)I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth ^(DS)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(DT)give it to the one who is ^[y]pleasing in My sight. ⁶And now I ^(DU)have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(DV)My servant, and I have also given him the ^(DW)animals of the field to serve him. ⁷^(DX)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(DY)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(DZ)many nations and great kings will ^[z]make him their servant.

⁸‘And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which ^(EA)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(EB)sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the Lord, ‘until I have eliminated ^[aa]it by his hand. ⁹And as for you, ^(EC)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[ab]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰For they are prophesying a ^(ED)lie to you in order to ^(EE)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish. ¹¹But the nation that will ^(EF)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(EG)let remain on its land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will cultivate it and live in it.’”’”

¹²I spoke words like all these to ^(EH)Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³Why should you ^(EI)die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the Lord has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴So ^(EJ)do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a ^(EK)lie to you; ¹⁵for ^(EL)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they are ^(EM)prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will ^(EN)drive you away and that you will perish, ^(EO)you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the ^(EP)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a ^(EQ)lie to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(ER)become a place of ruins? ¹⁸But ^(ES)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, have them now ^(ET)plead with the Lord of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon. ¹⁹For this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the ^(EU)pillars, concerning the ^[ac]sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(EV)led into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹Yes, this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²²“They will be ^(EW)brought to Babylon and will be there until the ^(EX)day I visit them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will ^(EY)bring them ^[ad]back and restore them to this place.”’”

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(EZ)in the beginning of the reign of ^(FA)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(FB)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(FC)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, ²“^(FD)This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(FE)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴I am ^(FF)also going to bring back to this place ^(FG)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(FH)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(FI)yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the ^(FJ)house of the Lord, ⁶and Jeremiah the prophet said, “^(FK)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. ⁷Yet ^(FL)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^[ae]so that you and all the people can hear it! ⁸The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(FM)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(FN)when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(FO)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “^(FP)This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹²Then the ^(FQ)word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ¹³“Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made ^(FR)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a ^(FS)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(FT)serve him. And ^(FU)I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” ¹⁵Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and ^(FV)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^(FW)Behold, I am going to ^[af]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(FX)die, because you ^(FY)spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

¹⁷So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(FZ)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²(This was after King ^(GA)Jeconiah and the ^(GB)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(GC)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have ^(GD)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵‘^(GE)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[ag]produce. ⁶Take ^(GF)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. ⁷^(GG)Seek the ^[ah]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(GH)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for ^[ai]in its ^[aj]prosperity will be your ^[ak]prosperity.’ ⁸For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your ^(GI)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(GJ)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(GK)your dreams which you dream. ⁹For they ^(GL)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(GM)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰“For this is what the Lord says: ‘When ^(GN)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(GO)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the ^(GP)plans that I ^[al]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^[am]^(GQ)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(GR)hope. ¹²Then you will ^(GS)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(GT)listen to you. ¹³And you will ^(GU)seek Me and find Me when you ^(GV)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴I will let Myself be ^(GW)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(GX)restore your fortunes and ^(GY)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(GZ)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(HA)prophets for us in Babylon’— ¹⁶for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did ^(HB)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(HC)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like ^(HD)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ^(HE)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(HF)curse and an object of horror and ^[an]^(HG)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they have ^(HH)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(HI)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ²⁰‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have ^(HJ)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are ^(HK)prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. ²²Because of them a ^(HL)curse will be ^[ao]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ^(HM)roasted in the fire,’ ²³because they ^(HN)acted ^[ap]foolishly in Israel, and ^(HO)committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely ^(HP)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who ^(HQ)knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

²⁴Now you shall speak to ^(HR)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent ^(HS)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(HT)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ^[aq]^(HU)overseer of the house of the Lord for every ^(HV)insane person who ^(HW)prophesies, to ^(HX)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. ²⁷So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(HY)Anathoth who prophesies to you, ²⁸seeing that he has ^(HZ)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘^[ar]The exile will be ^(IA)long; ^(IB)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their ^[as]produce’?”’”

²⁹Now ^(IC)Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^[at]to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹“Send word to ^(ID)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning ^(IE)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has ^(IF)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(IG)made you trust in a lie,” ³²therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(IH)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[au]descendants; he will ^(II)not have anyone living among this people, ^(IJ)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^(IK)spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

Liberation from Captivity Promised

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(IL)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. ³For behold, ^(IM)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(IN)restore the fortunes of My people ^(IO)Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also ^(IP)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”

⁴Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

⁵“For this is what the Lord says:

‘^[av]I have heard a sound of ^(IQ)terror,
Of fear, and there is no peace.
⁶Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his waist, ^(IR)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
⁷Woe, for that ^(IS)day is great,
There is ^(IT)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s ^(IU)distress,
Yet he will be ^(IV)saved from it.

⁸‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will ^(IW)break his yoke from ^[aw]their necks and will tear to pieces ^[ax]their ^(IX)restraints; and strangers will no longer ^(IY)make ^[ay]them their slaves. ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(IZ)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰And ^(JA)do not fear, Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, Israel;
For behold, I am going to save you ^(JB)from far away,
And your ^[az]descendants from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and be ^(JC)at peace, without anxiety,
And ^(JD)no one will make him afraid.
¹¹For ^(JE)I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will completely ^(JF)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will ^(JG)not destroy you completely.
But I will ^(JH)discipline you fairly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

¹²“For this is what the Lord says:
‘Your broken limb is irreparable,
And your ^(JI)wound is incurable.
¹³There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
^(JJ)No recovery for you.
¹⁴All your ^(JK)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have ^(JL)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the ^(JM)punishment of a ^(JN)cruel one,
Because your ^(JO)wrongdoing is great,
And your ^(JP)sins are numerous.
¹⁵Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your wrongdoing is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
¹⁶Therefore all who ^(JQ)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, ^(JR)will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will become plunder,
And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.
¹⁷For I will ^[ba]restore you to ^[bb]^(JS)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
‘Because they have called you an ^(JT)outcast, saying:
“It is Zion; no one ^[bc]cares for her.”’

Restoration of Jacob

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:
‘Behold, I will ^(JU)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And ^(JV)have compassion on his dwellings;
And the ^(JW)city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
And the ^(JX)palace will stand on its rightful place.
¹⁹From them will come a ^(JY)song of thanksgiving
And the voices of those who ^[bd]^(JZ)celebrate;
And I will ^(KA)multiply them and they will not decrease;
I will ^(KB)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
²⁰^[be]Their children also will be as before,
And ^[bf]their congregation will be ^(KC)established before Me;
And I will punish all ^[bg]their oppressors.
²¹^[bh]Their ^(KD)leader shall be one of them,
And ^[bi]their ruler will come out from ^[bj]their midst;
And I will ^(KE)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For ^[bk]who would dare to risk his life to ^(KF)approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
²²‘You shall be ^(KG)My people,
And I will be your God.’”

²³Behold, the ^(KH)tempest of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
A ^[bl]sweeping tempest;
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
²⁴The ^(KI)fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has performed and accomplished
The intent of His heart.
In the ^(KJ)latter days you will understand this.

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the ^(KK)God of all the ^(KL)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

²This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survived the sword
^(KM)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to ^(KN)find its rest.”
³The Lord appeared to ^[bm]him ^[bn]long ago, saying,
“I have ^(KO)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(KP)kindness.
⁴^(KQ)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will ^[bo]take up your ^(KR)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the ^(KS)revelers.
⁵Again you will ^(KT)plant vineyards
On the ^[bp]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will ^[bq]enjoy the fruit.
⁶For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and ^(KU)let’s go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”

⁷For this is what the Lord says:
“^(KV)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the ^[br]^(KW)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Lord, ^(KX)save Your people,
The ^(KY)remnant of Israel!’
⁸Behold, I am ^(KZ)bringing them from the north country,
And I will ^(LA)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are ^(LB)blind and those who ^(LC)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.
⁹^(LD)They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by ^(LE)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will ^(LF)not stumble;
For I am a ^(LG)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is ^(LH)My firstborn.”

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
And declare it in the ^(LI)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will ^(LJ)gather him,
And He will keep him as a ^(LK)shepherd keeps his flock.”
¹¹For the Lord has ^(LL)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(LM)stronger than he.
¹²“They will ^(LN)come and shout for joy on the ^(LO)height of Zion,
And they will be ^(LP)radiant over the ^[bs]bounty of the Lord—
Over the ^(LQ)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the ^(LR)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a ^(LS)watered garden,
And they will ^(LT)never languish again.
¹³Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(LU)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will ^(LV)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them ^(LW)joy for their sorrow.
¹⁴I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^[bt]abundance,
And My people will be ^(LX)satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

¹⁵This is what the Lord says:
“^(LY)A voice is heard in ^(LZ)Ramah,
Lamenting and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She ^(MA)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(MB)they are no more.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“^(MC)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your ^(MD)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will ^(ME)return from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷There is ^(MF)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
¹⁸I have certainly heard Ephraim ^(MG)grieving,
‘You have ^(MH)disciplined me, and I was corrected,
Like an untrained ^(MI)calf;
^(MJ)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹For after I turned back, I ^(MK)repented;
And after I was instructed, I ^[bu]^(ML)slapped my thigh;
I was ^(MM)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the shame of my youth.’
²⁰Is ^(MN)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My ^[bv]^(MO)heart yearns for him;
I will certainly ^(MP)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

²¹“Set up roadmarks for yourself,
Place guideposts for yourself;
^(MQ)Direct your ^[bw]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
^(MR)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
²²How long will you waver,
You ^(MS)rebellious daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
A woman will shelter a man.”

²³This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I ^(MT)restore their fortunes,

‘The Lord bless you, O ^(MU)place of righteousness,
O ^(MV)holy hill!’

²⁴Judah and all its cities will ^(MW)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. ²⁵^(MX)For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and ^[bx]refresh everyone who languishes.” ²⁶At this I ^(MY)awoke and looked, and my ^(MZ)sleep had been pleasant to me.

A New Covenant

²⁷“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will ^(NA)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. ²⁸And just as I have ^(NB)watched over them to ^(NC)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(ND)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

²⁹“In those days they will no longer say,
‘^(NE)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
^[by]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’

³⁰But ^(NF)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

³¹“^(NG)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a ^(NH)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the ^(NI)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(NJ)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(NK)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³“For ^(NL)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “^(NM)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(NN)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴They will ^(NO)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all ^(NP)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will ^(NQ)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(NR)sin I will no longer remember.”

³⁵This is what the Lord says,
He who ^(NS)gives the sun for light by day
And the ^[bz]fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who ^(NT)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
^(NU)The Lord of armies is His name:
³⁶“^(NV)If ^[ca]this fixed order departs
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the descendants of Israel also will ^(NW)cease
To be a nation before Me ^[cb]forever.”
³⁷This is what the Lord says:
“^(NX)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also ^(NY)reject all the descendants of Israel
For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord.

³⁸“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the ^(NZ)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the ^(OA)Tower of Hananel to the ^(OB)Corner Gate. ³⁹The ^(OC)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰And ^(OD)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(OE)Kidron to the corner of the ^(OF)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(OG)holy to the Lord; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again.”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the ^(OH)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ²Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the ^(OI)courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah, ³because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(OJ)imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you ^(OK)prophesy, saying, ‘^(OL)This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(OM)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it; ⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(ON)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(OO)speak with him ^[cc]face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵Then he will ^(OP)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(OQ)not succeed”’?”

⁶And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at ^(OR)Anathoth, for you have the ^(OS)right of redemption to buy it.”’ ⁸Then my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the ^(OT)courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at ^(OU)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the ^(OV)word of the Lord.

⁹“So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I ^(OW)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen ^(OX)shekels of silver. ¹⁰And I ^[cd]^(OY)signed and ^(OZ)sealed the deed, and ^(PA)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the ^(PB)terms and conditions and the open copy; ¹²and I gave the deed of purchase to ^(PC)Baruch the son of ^(PD)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. ¹³And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying, ¹⁴‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may ^[ce]last a long time.” ¹⁵For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “^(PE)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land.”’

Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

¹⁶“After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I ^(PF)prayed to the Lord, saying, ¹⁷‘^(PG)Oh, Lord ^[cf]God! Behold, You Yourself have ^(PH)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! ^(PI)Nothing is too difficult for You, ¹⁸who ^(PJ)shows mercy to thousands, but ^(PK)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, ^(PL)great and ^(PM)mighty God. The ^(PN)Lord of armies is His name; ¹⁹^(PO)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose ^(PP)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, ^(PQ)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; ²⁰who has ^(PR)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have ^(PS)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. ²¹You ^(PT)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²and You gave them this land, which You ^(PU)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³They ^(PV)came in and took possession of it, but they ^(PW)did not obey Your voice or ^(PX)walk in Your Law; they did not do ^[cg]anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made ^(PY)all this disaster happen to them. ²⁴Behold, the ^(PZ)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been ^(QA)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the ^(QB)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has ^(QC)come to pass; and behold, You see it. ²⁵Yet You have said to me, Lord ^[ch]God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.’”

²⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, the ^(QD)God of all flesh; is anything ^(QE)too difficult for Me?” ²⁸Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(QF)hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. ²⁹And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and ^(QG)set this city on fire and burn it, with the ^(QH)houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. ³⁰For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only ^(QI)evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only ^(QJ)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. ³¹“Indeed this city has been to Me a ^(QK)provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be ^(QL)removed from My sight, ³²because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their ^(QM)kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, ^(QN)teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline. ³⁴But they ^(QO)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³⁵They built the ^(QP)high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to ^(QQ)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it ^[ci]entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

³⁶“Now therefore the Lord God of Israel says the following concerning this city of which you say, ‘It has been ^(QR)handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague’: ³⁷Behold, I am going to ^(QS)gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and ^(QT)have them live in safety. ³⁸They shall be ^(QU)My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹and I will ^(QV)give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own ^(QW)good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make an ^(QX)everlasting covenant with them that I will ^(QY)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will ^(QZ)put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me. ⁴¹I will ^(RA)rejoice over them to do them good and will ^[cj]faithfully ^(RB)plant them in this land with ^(RC)all My heart and all My soul. ⁴²For this is what the Lord says: ‘^(RD)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to ^(RE)bring on them all the good that I am promising them. ⁴³And ^(RF)fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, “^(RG)It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴People will buy fields for money, ^[ck]^(RH)sign and seal ^[cl]deeds, and call in witnesses in the ^(RI)land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the ^[cm]Negev; for I will ^(RJ)restore their fortunes,’ declares the Lord.”

Restoration Promised

33 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still ^(RK)confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, ²“This is what ^(RL)the Lord says, He who made ^[cn]the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ^(RM)Lord: ³‘^(RN)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ^(RO)great and ^[co]mighty things, ^(RP)which you do not know.’ ⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the ^(RQ)houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ^(RR)assault ramps and the sword: ⁵‘While they are coming to ^(RS)fight the Chaldeans and to fill ^[cp]their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ^(RT)hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: ⁶Behold, I am going to bring to it ^(RU)healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ^(RV)abundance of peace and truth. ⁷And I will ^(RW)restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ^(RX)rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸And I will ^(RY)cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me. ⁹^[cq]It will be to Me a ^(RZ)name of joy, praise, and glory before ^(SA)all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ^(SB)good that I do for them, and they will be ^(SC)frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

¹⁰“This is what the Lord says: ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a ^(SD)waste, without man and without animal,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ^(SE)deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, ¹¹the voice of ^(SF)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

“^(SG)Give thanks to the Lord of armies,
For the Lord is good,
For His mercy is everlasting,”

as they bring a ^(SH)thanksgiving offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

¹²“This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, ^(SI)without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ^(SJ)flocks. ¹³In the ^(SK)cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again ^(SL)pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴‘Behold, ^(SM)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(SN)fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will make a ^(SO)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(SP)justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶In those days ^(SQ)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(SR)Lord is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷For this is what the Lord says: ‘^[cr]David shall ^(SS)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸^[cs]and the ^(ST)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(SU)prepare sacrifices ^[ct]continually.’”

¹⁹And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰“This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can ^(SV)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time, ²¹then ^(SW)My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ²²As the ^(SX)heavenly ^[cu]lights cannot be counted, and the ^(SY)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(SZ)multiply the ^[cv]descendants of My servant David and the ^(TA)Levites who serve Me.’”

²³And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴“Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, ‘The ^(TB)two families which the Lord chose, He has ^(TC)rejected them’? So they ^(TD)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^[cw]in their sight. ²⁵This is what the Lord says: ‘If My ^(TE)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(TF)not established the ^[cx]fixed patterns of heaven and earth, ²⁶then I would ^(TG)reject the ^[cy]descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^[cz]descendants ^(TH)rulers over the ^[da]descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(TI)restore their fortunes and have ^(TJ)mercy on them.’”

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^(TK)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(TL)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^[db]control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(TM)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, ^(TN)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(TO)he will burn it with fire. ³And as for you, ^(TP)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(TQ)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^[dc]face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the Lord says concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. ⁵You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^(TR)burn spices for you; and ^(TS)they will mourn for you, crying, “Oh, my lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(TT)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^(TU)Lachish and ^(TV)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(TW)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

⁸The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had ^(TX)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(TY)proclaim ^[dd]release to them: ⁹that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(TZ)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(UA)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. ¹⁰And all the ^(UB)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. ¹¹But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I ^(UC)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(UD)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴“^(UE)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^[de]has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers ^(UF)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵Although recently you had turned and ^(UG)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^[df]release to his neighbor, and you had ^(UH)made a covenant before Me ^(UI)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶Yet you ^(UJ)turned and ^(UK)profaned My name, and each person ^[dg]took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.’

¹⁷“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^[dh]release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(UL)proclaiming a ^[di]release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the ^(UM)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(UN)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸I will give the people who have ^(UO)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(UP)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹the ^(UQ)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(UR)seek their lives. And their ^(US)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. ²¹^(UT)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(UU)withdrawn from you. ²²Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(UV)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(UW)desolation ^(UX)without inhabitant.’”