Jeremiah 21-36

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ²“Please ^(D)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because ^(E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us ^(G)in accordance with all His ^[a]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: ⁴‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the middle of this city. ⁵And I ^(J)Myself will make war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in ^(L)anger, wrath, and great indignation. ⁶I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great ^(M)plague. ⁷Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “^(N)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸“You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(P)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹Anyone who ^(Q)stays in this city will die by the ^(R)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. ¹⁰For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be ^(T)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’

¹¹“Then say to the household of the ^(V)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹²^(W)house of David, this is what the Lord says:

“^(X)Administer justice ^[b]every ^(Y)morning;
And save the person who has been robbed from the ^[c]power of his oppressor,
^(Z)So that My wrath will not spread like fire
And ^(AA)burn, with no one to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.

¹³“Behold, ^(AB)I am against you, you inhabitant of the ^(AC)valley,
You ^[d]rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You who say, ‘^(AD)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter our dwellings?’
¹⁴But I will punish you ^(AE)according to the ^[e]results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will ^(AF)kindle a fire in its forest
So that it may devour all its surroundings.”’”

Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word, ²and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who ^(AG)sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. ³This is what the Lord says: “^(AH)Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his ^(AI)oppressor. And ^(AJ)do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not ^(AK)shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴For if you will indeed perform this ^[f]instruction, then ^(AL)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting ^[g]in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people. ⁵^(AM)But if you will not obey these words, I ^(AN)swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.”’” ⁶For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like ^(AO)Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you a ^(AP)wilderness,
Cities that are not inhabited.
⁷For I will set apart ^(AQ)destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will ^(AR)cut down your choicest cedars
And ^(AS)throw them on the fire.

⁸“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will ^(AT)say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ ⁹Then they will ^[h]answer, ‘Because they ^(AU)abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”

¹⁰^(AV)Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep deeply for the one who goes away;
For ^(AW)he will never return
Or see his native land.

¹¹For this is what the Lord says regarding ^[i]^(AX)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; ¹²but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will ^(AY)die and he will not see this land again.

Messages about the Kings

¹³“Woe to him who builds his house ^(AZ)without righteousness,
And his upstairs rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And ^(BA)does not give him his wages,
¹⁴Who says, ‘I will ^(BB)build myself a large house
With spacious upstairs rooms,
And cut out its windows,
^[j]Paneling it with ^(BC)cedar and painting it ^[k]bright red.’
¹⁵Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink
And ^(BD)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was ^(BE)well for him.
¹⁶He pled the cause of the ^(BF)afflicted and the poor,
Then it was well.
^(BG)Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
¹⁷“But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own ^(BH)dishonest gain,
And on ^(BI)shedding innocent blood,
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

¹⁸Therefore this is what the Lord says regarding ^(BJ)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They will not ^(BK)mourn for him:
‘^(BL)Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’
¹⁹He will be ^(BM)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
²⁰Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from ^(BN)Abarim,
For all your ^(BO)lovers have been crushed.
²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But ^(BP)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
^(BQ)This has been your way ^(BR)from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
²²The wind will sweep away all your ^(BS)shepherds,
And your ^(BT)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be ^(BU)ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
²³You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
^(BV)Pain like a woman in childbirth!

²⁴“As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if ^[l]^(BW)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a ^(BX)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull ^[m]you ^[n]off; ²⁵and I will ^(BY)hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. ²⁶I will ^(BZ)hurl you and your ^(CA)mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. ²⁷But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an ^(CB)undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been ^(CC)hurled out
And cast into a ^(CD)land that they had not known?
²⁹^(CE)O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!

³⁰This is what the Lord says:

‘Write this man down as ^(CF)childless,
A man who will ^(CG)not prosper in his days;
For no man among his ^(CH)descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

23 “^(CI)Woe to the shepherds who are causing the ^(CJ)sheep of My pasture to ^(CK)perish and are scattering them!” declares the Lord. ²Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are ^[o]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not been concerned about them; behold, I am going to ^(CL)call you to account for the ^(CM)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. ³“Then I Myself will ^(CN)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will also raise up ^(CO)shepherds over them and they will ^[p]tend them; and they will ^(CP)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, ^(CQ)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

⁵“Behold, the ^(CR)days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous ^[q]^(CS)Branch;
And He will ^(CT)reign as king and ^[r]act wisely
And ^(CU)do justice and righteousness in the land.
⁶In His days Judah will be saved,
And ^(CV)Israel will live securely;
And this is His ^(CW)name by which He will be called,
‘The ^(CX)Lord Our Righteousness.’

⁷“^(CY)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the sons of Israel up from the land of Egypt,’ ⁸^(CZ)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(DA)brought up and led the descendants of the household of Israel back from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”

False Prophets Denounced

⁹As for the prophets:
My ^(DB)heart is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
And like a man overcome by wine,
Because of the Lord
And because of His holy words.
¹⁰For the land is full of ^(DC)adulterers;
For the land ^(DD)mourns because of the curse.
The ^(DE)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course is evil
And their might is not right.
¹¹“For ^(DF)both prophet and priest are defiled;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore their way will be like ^(DG)slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the ^(DH)gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring ^(DI)disaster upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.

¹³“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an ^(DJ)offensive thing:
They ^(DK)prophesied by Baal and ^(DL)led My people Israel astray.
¹⁴Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a ^(DM)horrible thing:
The committing of ^(DN)adultery and walking in deceit;
And they strengthen the hands of ^(DO)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.
All of them have become to Me like ^(DP)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the prophets:

‘Behold, I am going to ^(DQ)feed them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Ungodliness has spread into all the land.’”

¹⁶This is what the Lord of armies says:
“^(DR)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are ^(DS)leading you into futility;
They tell a ^(DT)vision of their own ^[s]imagination,
Not ^(DU)from the mouth of the Lord.
¹⁷They keep saying to those who ^(DV)despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “^(DW)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the ^(DX)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘^(DY)Disaster will not come on you.’
¹⁸But ^(DZ)who has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has paid ^(EA)attention to ^[t]His word and listened?
¹⁹Behold, the ^(EB)storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling tempest;
It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
²⁰The ^(EC)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has ^(ED)performed and carried out the purposes of His heart;
^(EE)In the last days you will clearly understand it.
²¹^(EF)I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
²²But if they had ^(EG)stood in My council,
Then they would have ^(EH)announced My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.

²³“Am I a God who is ^(EI)near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
²⁴Can a person ^(EJ)hide himself in hiding places
So that I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“^(EK)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

²⁵“I have ^(EL)heard what the prophets have said who ^(EM)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a ^(EN)dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the ^(EO)deceitfulness of their own heart, ²⁷who intend to ^(EP)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they report to one another, just as their fathers ^(EQ)forgot My name because of Baal? ²⁸The prophet who has a dream may report his dream, but let him who has ^(ER)My word speak My word truthfully. ^(ES)What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹“Is My word not like ^(ET)fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a ^(EU)hammer which shatters a rock? ³⁰Therefore behold, ^(EV)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. ³¹Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who ^[u]use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares!’ ³²Behold, I am against those who have prophesied ^(EW)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and reported them and led My people astray by their lies and ^(EX)reckless boasting; yet ^(EY)I did not send them nor command them, nor do they ^(EZ)provide this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.

³³“Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, ‘What is the ^[v]^(FA)pronouncement of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What ^[w]pronouncement?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will ^(FB)abandon you.’ ³⁴Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The ^(FC)pronouncement of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that person and his household. ³⁵This is what each one of you will say to his neighbor and to his brother: ‘^(FD)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the Lord, because every person’s own word will become the pronouncement, and you have ^(FE)perverted the words of the ^(FF)living God, the Lord of armies, our God. ³⁷This is what you will say to that prophet: ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸And if you say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’ for that reason the Lord says this: ‘Because you said this word, “The pronouncement of the Lord!” I have also sent word to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’”’ ³⁹Therefore behold, ^(FG)I will certainly forget you and thrust you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. ⁴⁰I will put an everlasting ^(FH)disgrace on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

24 After ^(FI)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and metalworkers from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two ^(FJ)baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. ²One basket had very good figs, like ^(FK)first-ripe figs, and the other basket had ^(FL)very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. ³Then the Lord said to me, “^(FM)What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad ones, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ^(FN)as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^(FO)bring them back to this land; and I will ^(FP)build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ^(FQ)plant them and not uproot them. ⁷I will also give them a ^(FR)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be ^(FS)My people, and I will be their God, for they will ^(FT)return to Me wholeheartedly.

⁸‘But like the ^(FU)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up ^(FV)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(FW)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of ^(FX)Egypt. ⁹I will ^(FY)make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(FZ)disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(GA)curse in all the places where I will scatter them. ¹⁰And I will send the ^(GB)sword, the famine, and the plague upon them until they are eliminated from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

Prophecy of the Captivity

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(GC)fourth year of ^(GD)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(GE)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ²the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(GF)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ³“From the ^(GG)thirteenth year of ^(GH)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^[x]these ^(GI)twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^(GJ)again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴And the Lord has sent to you all His ^(GK)servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵saying, ‘^(GL)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 ^(GM)forever and ever; ⁶and ^(GN)do not follow other gods to ^[y]serve them and to ^[z]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 ^(GO)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 ^(GP)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(GQ)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will ^[aa]completely destroy them and ^(GR)make them an object of horror and ^[ab]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. ¹⁰Moreover, I will ^(GS)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the ^(GT)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹^(GU)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for ^(GV)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

¹²‘Then it will be ^(GW)when seventy years are completed I will ^(GX)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(GY)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 ^(GZ)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(HA)all the nations. ¹⁴(^[ac]For ^(HB)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(HC)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 ^(HD)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 ^(HE)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 ^(HF)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: ¹⁸To ^(HG)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, ^[ad]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹To ^(HH)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; ²⁰and to all the ^(HI)foreign ^[ae]people, all the kings of the ^(HJ)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(HK)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(HL)Ashdod); ²¹To ^(HM)Edom, ^(HN)Moab, and the sons of ^(HO)Ammon; ²²and to all the kings of ^(HP)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of ^(HQ)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; ²³and to ^(HR)Dedan, Tema, ^(HS)Buz, and all who ^(HT)trim the corners of their hair; ²⁴and to all the kings of ^(HU)Arabia and all the kings of the ^(HV)foreign ^[af]people who live in the desert; ²⁵and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(HW)Elam, and all the kings of ^(HX)Media; ²⁶and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(HY)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of ^[ag]^(HZ)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: “^(IA)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the ^(IB)sword which I am sending among you.”’ ²⁸And if they ^(IC)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(ID)You shall certainly drink! ²⁹For behold, I am ^(IE)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is ^(IF)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for ^(IG)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 ^(IH)Lord will ^(II)roar from on high
And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar forcefully against His ^[ah]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 ^(IJ)a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into ^(IK)judgment with ^[ai]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 ^(IL)nation to nation,
And a great ^(IM)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.

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

³⁴Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
^(IQ)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your ^(IR)slaughter and your dispersions ^[ak]have come,
And you will fall like a precious vessel.
³⁵^[al]There will be ^(IS)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 ^(IT)grazing places are devastated
Because of the ^(IU)fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸He has left His hiding place ^(IV)like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the ^[am]oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”

Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(IW)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘^(IX)Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(IY)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(IZ)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(JA)Do not omit a word! ³^(JB)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and ^(JC)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: “^(JD)If you do not listen to Me, to ^(JE)walk in My Law which I have set before you, ⁵to listen to the words of ^(JF)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 ^(JG)Shiloh, and I will make this city a ^(JH)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷The ^(JI)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, “^(JJ)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 ^(JK)in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And ^(JL)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the ^(JM)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the ^(JN)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets ^(JO)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(JP)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(JQ)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, “^(JR)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³Now then, ^(JS)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, ^(JT)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 ^(JU)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 ^[an]so that you hear them.”

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people ^(JV)said to the priests and the prophets, “No ^(JW)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷Then ^(JX)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸“^[ao]^(JY)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:

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

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not ^(KB)fear the Lord and plead for the favor of the Lord, and ^(KC)the Lord relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(KD)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 ^(KE)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 ^(KF)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he ^(KG)fled and went to Egypt. ²²Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(KH)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 ^(KI)killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the ^[aq]burial place of the ^[ar]common people.

²⁴But the hand of ^(KJ)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(KK)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 ^[as]^(KL)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 ^(KM)restraints and ^(KN)yokes and put them on your neck, ³and send ^[at]word to the king of ^(KO)Edom, the king of ^(KP)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(KQ)Ammon, the king of ^(KR)Tyre, and to the king of ^(KS)Sidon ^[au]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‘^(KT)I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth ^(KU)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(KV)give it to the one who is ^[av]pleasing in My sight. ⁶And now I ^(KW)have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(KX)My servant, and I have also given him the ^(KY)animals of the field to serve him. ⁷^(KZ)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(LA)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(LB)many nations and great kings will ^[aw]make him their servant.

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

¹²I spoke words like all these to ^(LJ)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 ^(LK)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 ^(LL)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 ^(LM)lie to you; ¹⁵for ^(LN)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they are ^(LO)prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will ^(LP)drive you away and that you will perish, ^(LQ)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 ^(LR)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a ^(LS)lie to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(LT)become a place of ruins? ¹⁸But ^(LU)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, have them now ^(LV)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 ^(LW)pillars, concerning the ^[az]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 ^(LX)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 ^(LY)brought to Babylon and will be there until the ^(LZ)day I visit them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will ^(MA)bring them ^[ba]back and restore them to this place.”’”

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(MB)in the beginning of the reign of ^(MC)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(MD)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(ME)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, ²“^(MF)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 ^(MG)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴I am ^(MH)also going to bring back to this place ^(MI)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(MJ)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(MK)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 ^(ML)house of the Lord, ⁶and Jeremiah the prophet said, “^(MM)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 ^(MN)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^[bb]so that you and all the people can hear it! ⁸The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(MO)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(MP)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 ^(MQ)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “^(MR)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 ^(MS)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 ^(MT)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a ^(MU)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(MV)serve him. And ^(MW)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 ^(MX)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^(MY)Behold, I am going to ^[bc]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(MZ)die, because you ^(NA)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 ^(NB)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 ^(NC)Jeconiah and the ^(ND)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 ^(NE)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 ^(NF)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵‘^(NG)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[bd]produce. ⁶Take ^(NH)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^(NI)Seek the ^[be]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(NJ)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for ^[bf]in its ^[bg]prosperity will be your ^[bh]prosperity.’ ⁸For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your ^(NK)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(NL)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(NM)your dreams which you dream. ⁹For they ^(NN)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(NO)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰“For this is what the Lord says: ‘When ^(NP)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(NQ)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the ^(NR)plans that I ^[bi]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^[bj]^(NS)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(NT)hope. ¹²Then you will ^(NU)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(NV)listen to you. ¹³And you will ^(NW)seek Me and find Me when you ^(NX)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴I will let Myself be ^(NY)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(NZ)restore your fortunes and ^(OA)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(OB)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(OC)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 ^(OD)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(OE)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like ^(OF)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ^(OG)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(OH)curse and an object of horror and ^[bk]^(OI)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they have ^(OJ)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(OK)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 ^(OL)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 ^(OM)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 ^(ON)curse will be ^[bl]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 ^(OO)roasted in the fire,’ ²³because they ^(OP)acted ^[bm]foolishly in Israel, and ^(OQ)committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely ^(OR)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who ^(OS)knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

²⁴Now you shall speak to ^(OT)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent ^(OU)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(OV)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 ^[bn]^(OW)overseer of the house of the Lord for every ^(OX)insane person who ^(OY)prophesies, to ^(OZ)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. ²⁷So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(PA)Anathoth who prophesies to you, ²⁸seeing that he has ^(PB)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘^[bo]The exile will be ^(PC)long; ^(PD)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their ^[bp]produce’?”’”

²⁹Now ^(PE)Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^[bq]to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹“Send word to ^(PF)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning ^(PG)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has ^(PH)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(PI)made you trust in a lie,” ³²therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(PJ)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[br]descendants; he will ^(PK)not have anyone living among this people, ^(PL)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^(PM)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: ‘^(PN)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. ³For behold, ^(PO)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(PP)restore the fortunes of My people ^(PQ)Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also ^(PR)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:

‘^[bs]I have heard a sound of ^(PS)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, ^(PT)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
⁷Woe, for that ^(PU)day is great,
There is ^(PV)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s ^(PW)distress,
Yet he will be ^(PX)saved from it.

⁸‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will ^(PY)break his yoke from ^[bt]their necks and will tear to pieces ^[bu]their ^(PZ)restraints; and strangers will no longer ^(QA)make ^[bv]them their slaves. ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(QB)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰And ^(QC)do not fear, Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, Israel;
For behold, I am going to save you ^(QD)from far away,
And your ^[bw]descendants from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and be ^(QE)at peace, without anxiety,
And ^(QF)no one will make him afraid.
¹¹For ^(QG)I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will completely ^(QH)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will ^(QI)not destroy you completely.
But I will ^(QJ)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 ^(QK)wound is incurable.
¹³There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
^(QL)No recovery for you.
¹⁴All your ^(QM)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have ^(QN)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the ^(QO)punishment of a ^(QP)cruel one,
Because your ^(QQ)wrongdoing is great,
And your ^(QR)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 ^(QS)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, ^(QT)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 ^[bx]restore you to ^[by]^(QU)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
‘Because they have called you an ^(QV)outcast, saying:
“It is Zion; no one ^[bz]cares for her.”’

Restoration of Jacob

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:
‘Behold, I will ^(QW)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And ^(QX)have compassion on his dwellings;
And the ^(QY)city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
And the ^(QZ)palace will stand on its rightful place.
¹⁹From them will come a ^(RA)song of thanksgiving
And the voices of those who ^[ca]^(RB)celebrate;
And I will ^(RC)multiply them and they will not decrease;
I will ^(RD)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
²⁰^[cb]Their children also will be as before,
And ^[cc]their congregation will be ^(RE)established before Me;
And I will punish all ^[cd]their oppressors.
²¹^[ce]Their ^(RF)leader shall be one of them,
And ^[cf]their ruler will come out from ^[cg]their midst;
And I will ^(RG)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For ^[ch]who would dare to risk his life to ^(RH)approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
²²‘You shall be ^(RI)My people,
And I will be your God.’”

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

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

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

²This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survived the sword
^(RO)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to ^(RP)find its rest.”
³The Lord appeared to ^[cj]him ^[ck]long ago, saying,
“I have ^(RQ)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(RR)kindness.
⁴^(RS)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will ^[cl]take up your ^(RT)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the ^(RU)revelers.
⁵Again you will ^(RV)plant vineyards
On the ^[cm]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will ^[cn]enjoy the fruit.
⁶For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and ^(RW)let’s go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”

⁷For this is what the Lord says:
“^(RX)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the ^[co]^(RY)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Lord, ^(RZ)save Your people,
The ^(SA)remnant of Israel!’
⁸Behold, I am ^(SB)bringing them from the north country,
And I will ^(SC)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are ^(SD)blind and those who ^(SE)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.
⁹^(SF)They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by ^(SG)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will ^(SH)not stumble;
For I am a ^(SI)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is ^(SJ)My firstborn.”

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
And declare it in the ^(SK)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will ^(SL)gather him,
And He will keep him as a ^(SM)shepherd keeps his flock.”
¹¹For the Lord has ^(SN)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(SO)stronger than he.
¹²“They will ^(SP)come and shout for joy on the ^(SQ)height of Zion,
And they will be ^(SR)radiant over the ^[cp]bounty of the Lord—
Over the ^(SS)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the ^(ST)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a ^(SU)watered garden,
And they will ^(SV)never languish again.
¹³Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(SW)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will ^(SX)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them ^(SY)joy for their sorrow.
¹⁴I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^[cq]abundance,
And My people will be ^(SZ)satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

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

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“^(TE)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your ^(TF)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will ^(TG)return from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷There is ^(TH)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
¹⁸I have certainly heard Ephraim ^(TI)grieving,
‘You have ^(TJ)disciplined me, and I was corrected,
Like an untrained ^(TK)calf;
^(TL)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹For after I turned back, I ^(TM)repented;
And after I was instructed, I ^[cr]^(TN)slapped my thigh;
I was ^(TO)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the shame of my youth.’
²⁰Is ^(TP)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 ^[cs]^(TQ)heart yearns for him;
I will certainly ^(TR)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

²¹“Set up roadmarks for yourself,
Place guideposts for yourself;
^(TS)Direct your ^[ct]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
^(TT)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
²²How long will you waver,
You ^(TU)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 ^(TV)restore their fortunes,

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

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

A New Covenant

²⁷“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will ^(UC)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 ^(UD)watched over them to ^(UE)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(UF)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

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

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

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

³⁵This is what the Lord says,
He who ^(UU)gives the sun for light by day
And the ^[cw]fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who ^(UV)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
^(UW)The Lord of armies is His name:
³⁶“^(UX)If ^[cx]this fixed order departs
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the descendants of Israel also will ^(UY)cease
To be a nation before Me ^[cy]forever.”
³⁷This is what the Lord says:
“^(UZ)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also ^(VA)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 ^(VB)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the ^(VC)Tower of Hananel to the ^(VD)Corner Gate. ³⁹The ^(VE)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰And ^(VF)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(VG)Kidron to the corner of the ^(VH)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(VI)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 ^(VJ)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 ^(VK)courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah, ³because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(VL)imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you ^(VM)prophesy, saying, ‘^(VN)This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(VO)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it; ⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(VP)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(VQ)speak with him ^[cz]face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵Then he will ^(VR)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(VS)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 ^(VT)Anathoth, for you have the ^(VU)right of redemption to buy it.”’ ⁸Then my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the ^(VV)courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at ^(VW)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 ^(VX)word of the Lord.

⁹“So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I ^(VY)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen ^(VZ)shekels of silver. ¹⁰And I ^[da]^(WA)signed and ^(WB)sealed the deed, and ^(WC)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the ^(WD)terms and conditions and the open copy; ¹²and I gave the deed of purchase to ^(WE)Baruch the son of ^(WF)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 ^[db]last a long time.” ¹⁵For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “^(WG)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 ^(WH)prayed to the Lord, saying, ¹⁷‘^(WI)Oh, Lord ^[dc]God! Behold, You Yourself have ^(WJ)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! ^(WK)Nothing is too difficult for You, ¹⁸who ^(WL)shows mercy to thousands, but ^(WM)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, ^(WN)great and ^(WO)mighty God. The ^(WP)Lord of armies is His name; ¹⁹^(WQ)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose ^(WR)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, ^(WS)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; ²⁰who has ^(WT)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have ^(WU)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. ²¹You ^(WV)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 ^(WW)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³They ^(WX)came in and took possession of it, but they ^(WY)did not obey Your voice or ^(WZ)walk in Your Law; they did not do ^[dd]anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made ^(XA)all this disaster happen to them. ²⁴Behold, the ^(XB)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been ^(XC)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the ^(XD)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has ^(XE)come to pass; and behold, You see it. ²⁵Yet You have said to me, Lord ^[de]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 ^(XF)God of all flesh; is anything ^(XG)too difficult for Me?” ²⁸Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(XH)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 ^(XI)set this city on fire and burn it, with the ^(XJ)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 ^(XK)evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only ^(XL)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. ³¹“Indeed this city has been to Me a ^(XM)provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be ^(XN)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 ^(XO)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, ^(XP)teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline. ³⁴But they ^(XQ)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³⁵They built the ^(XR)high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to ^(XS)Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it ^[df]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 ^(XT)handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague’: ³⁷Behold, I am going to ^(XU)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 ^(XV)have them live in safety. ³⁸They shall be ^(XW)My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹and I will ^(XX)give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own ^(XY)good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make an ^(XZ)everlasting covenant with them that I will ^(YA)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will ^(YB)put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me. ⁴¹I will ^(YC)rejoice over them to do them good and will ^[dg]faithfully ^(YD)plant them in this land with ^(YE)all My heart and all My soul. ⁴²For this is what the Lord says: ‘^(YF)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to ^(YG)bring on them all the good that I am promising them. ⁴³And ^(YH)fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, “^(YI)It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴People will buy fields for money, ^[dh]^(YJ)sign and seal ^[di]deeds, and call in witnesses in the ^(YK)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 ^[dj]Negev; for I will ^(YL)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 ^(YM)confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, ²“This is what ^(YN)the Lord says, He who made ^[dk]the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ^(YO)Lord: ³‘^(YP)Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ^(YQ)great and ^[dl]mighty things, ^(YR)which you do not know.’ ⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the ^(YS)houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ^(YT)assault ramps and the sword: ⁵‘While they are coming to ^(YU)fight the Chaldeans and to fill ^[dm]their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ^(YV)hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: ⁶Behold, I am going to bring to it ^(YW)healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ^(YX)abundance of peace and truth. ⁷And I will ^(YY)restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ^(YZ)rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸And I will ^(ZA)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^[dn]It will be to Me a ^(ZB)name of joy, praise, and glory before ^(ZC)all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ^(ZD)good that I do for them, and they will be ^(ZE)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 ^(ZF)waste, without man and without animal,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ^(ZG)deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, ¹¹the voice of ^(ZH)joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

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

as they bring a ^(ZJ)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, ^(ZK)without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ^(ZL)flocks. ¹³In the ^(ZM)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 ^(ZN)pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴‘Behold, ^(ZO)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(ZP)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 ^(ZQ)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(ZR)justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶In those days ^(ZS)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(ZT)Lord is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷For this is what the Lord says: ‘^[do]David shall ^(ZU)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸^[dp]and the ^(ZV)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(ZW)prepare sacrifices ^[dq]continually.’”

¹⁹And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰“This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can ^(ZX)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 ^(ZY)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 ^(ZZ)heavenly ^[dr]lights cannot be counted, and the ^(AAA)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(AAB)multiply the ^[ds]descendants of My servant David and the ^(AAC)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 ^(AAD)two families which the Lord chose, He has ^(AAE)rejected them’? So they ^(AAF)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^[dt]in their sight. ²⁵This is what the Lord says: ‘If My ^(AAG)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(AAH)not established the ^[du]fixed patterns of heaven and earth, ²⁶then I would ^(AAI)reject the ^[dv]descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^[dw]descendants ^(AAJ)rulers over the ^[dx]descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(AAK)restore their fortunes and have ^(AAL)mercy on them.’”

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^(AAM)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(AAN)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^[dy]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: ‘^(AAO)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, ^(AAP)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(AAQ)he will burn it with fire. ³And as for you, ^(AAR)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(AAS)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^[dz]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 ^(AAT)burn spices for you; and ^(AAU)they will mourn for you, crying, “Oh, my lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(AAV)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, ^(AAW)Lachish and ^(AAX)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(AAY)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

⁸The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had ^(AAZ)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(ABA)proclaim ^[ea]release to them: ⁹that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(ABB)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(ABC)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. ¹⁰And all the ^(ABD)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 ^(ABE)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(ABF)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴“^(ABG)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^[eb]has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers ^(ABH)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵Although recently you had turned and ^(ABI)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^[ec]release to his neighbor, and you had ^(ABJ)made a covenant before Me ^(ABK)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶Yet you ^(ABL)turned and ^(ABM)profaned My name, and each person ^[ed]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 ^[ee]release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(ABN)proclaiming a ^[ef]release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the ^(ABO)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(ABP)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸I will give the people who have ^(ABQ)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(ABR)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹the ^(ABS)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 ^(ABT)seek their lives. And their ^(ABU)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. ²¹^(ABV)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 ^(ABW)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 ^(ABX)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(ABY)desolation ^(ABZ)without inhabitant.’”

The Rechabites’ Obedience

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^(ACA)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ²“Go to the house of the ^(ACB)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the ^(ACC)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” ³So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites, ⁴and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(ACD)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(ACE)the doorkeeper. ⁵Then I set before the ^[eg]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “^(ACF)Drink wine!” ⁶But they said, “We will not drink wine, for ^(ACG)Jonadab the son of ^(ACH)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall ^(ACI)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. ⁷You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^[eh]own one; but you shall live in ^(ACJ)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(ACK)many days ^[ei]in the land where you ^(ACL)live as strangers.’ ⁸And we have ^(ACM)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(ACN)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. ¹⁰But we have ^(ACO)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(ACP)Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹However, when ^(ACQ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s ^(ACR)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”

Judah Rebuked

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “^(ACS)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. ¹⁴“The ^(ACT)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you ^(ACU)again and again, yet you have ^(ACV)not listened to Me. ¹⁵Also I have sent to you all My ^(ACW)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘^(ACX)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(ACY)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(ACZ)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(ADA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(ADB)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, ^(ADC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(ADD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have ^(ADE)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, ¹⁹therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(ADF)will not lack a man to ^(ADG)stand before Me ^[ej]always.”’”

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the ^(ADH)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“Take a ^[ek]^(ADI)scroll and write on it all the ^(ADJ)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(ADK)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(ADL)nations, from the ^(ADM)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ³^(ADN)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(ADO)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(ADP)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴Then Jeremiah called ^(ADQ)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^[el]^(ADR)scroll ^[em]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am ^[en]^(ADS)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶So you go and ^(ADT)read from the scroll, which you have ^(ADU)written ^[eo]at my dictation, the words of the Lord ^[ep]to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of ^(ADV)fasting. And you shall also read them ^[eq]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ⁷^(ADW)Perhaps their pleading will ^[er]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(ADX)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(ADY)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹Now in the ^(ADZ)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(AEA)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(AEB)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(AEC)fast before the Lord. ¹⁰Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the ^(AED)chamber of ^(AEE)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(AEF)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(AEG)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹Now when ^(AEH)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹²he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(AEI)Elishama the scribe, ^(AEJ)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(AEK)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³And Micaiah ^(AEL)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴Then all the officials sent ^(AEM)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(AEN)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(AEO)read it to them. ¹⁶When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(AEP)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly ^(AEQ)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(AER)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[es]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸And Baruch said to them, “He ^(AES)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(AET)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰So they came to the ^(AEU)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(AEV)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(AEW)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²²Now the king was sitting in the ^(AEX)winter house in the ^(AEY)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(AEZ)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(AFA)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(AFB)tear their garments. ²⁵Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(AFC)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(AFD)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(AFE)Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

²⁷Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(AFF)burned the scroll and the words which ^(AFG)Baruch had written ^[et]at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸“^(AFH)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(AFI)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have ^(AFJ)burned this scroll, saying, ‘^(AFK)Why have you written on it ^[eu]that the ^(AFL)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” ³⁰Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have ^(AFM)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(AFN)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹I will also ^(AFO)punish him, his ^[ev]descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(AFP)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”

³²Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he ^(AFQ)wrote on it at the ^[ew]dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many ^[ex]similar words were added to them.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 22:4 Lit word
Jeremiah 22:4 Lit for David
Jeremiah 22:9 Lit say
Jeremiah 22:11 I.e., Jehoahaz
Jeremiah 22:14 Or Paneled
Jeremiah 22:14 Or vermilion
Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 22:24 Lit off from there
Jeremiah 23:2 Lit shepherding
Jeremiah 23:4 Or shepherd
Jeremiah 23:5 Lit Sprout
Jeremiah 23:5 Or succeed
Jeremiah 23:16 Lit heart
Jeremiah 23:18 Another reading is My
Jeremiah 23:31 Lit take
Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
Jeremiah 25:3 Lit this
Jeremiah 25:6 Or worship
Jeremiah 25:6 Or bow down to
Jeremiah 25:9 Or put them under the ban
Jeremiah 25:9 Or whistling
Jeremiah 25:14 Or For they have served many nations and great kings
Jeremiah 25:18 Or whistling
Jeremiah 25:20 Or mercenaries
Jeremiah 25:24 Or mercenaries
Jeremiah 25:26 Cryptic name for Babylon
Jeremiah 25:30 Or pasture; i.e., a ref to His people
Jeremiah 25:31 Lit all flesh
Jeremiah 25:33 Lit other end of the earth
Jeremiah 25:34 Lit are full
Jeremiah 25:35 Lit Sanctuary will perish from
Jeremiah 25:38 Or oppressor
Jeremiah 26:15 Lit in your ears and the ears of all
Jeremiah 26:18 Lit Micaiah the Morasthite
Jeremiah 26:18 Or wooded heights
Jeremiah 26:23 Lit graves
Jeremiah 26:23 Lit sons of the people
Jeremiah 27:1 Many mss Jehoiakim
Jeremiah 27:3 Lit them
Jeremiah 27:3 Lit by the hand of
Jeremiah 27:5 Or upright
Jeremiah 27:7 Or enslave him
Jeremiah 27:8 Lit them
Jeremiah 27:9 Lit dreams
Jeremiah 27:19 I.e., the bronze basin or laver from the temple
Jeremiah 27:22 Lit up
Jeremiah 28:7 Lit in your ears and the ears of...people
Jeremiah 28:16 Lit send
Jeremiah 29:5 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
Jeremiah 29:7 Or your prosperity will depend on its
Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
Jeremiah 29:11 Lit am planning
Jeremiah 29:11 Or salvation
Jeremiah 29:18 Or whistling
Jeremiah 29:22 Lit taken
Jeremiah 29:23 Or sacrilegiously
Jeremiah 29:26 Lit overseers
Jeremiah 29:28 Lit It
Jeremiah 29:28 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 29:29 Lit in the ears of
Jeremiah 29:32 Lit seed
Jeremiah 30:5 Lit We
Jeremiah 30:8 As in LXX; MT your neck
Jeremiah 30:8 As in LXX; MT your
Jeremiah 30:8 Lit him their slave
Jeremiah 30:10 Lit seed
Jeremiah 30:17 Lit cause to go up
Jeremiah 30:17 Or healing
Jeremiah 30:17 Lit is seeking
Jeremiah 30:19 Or dance
Jeremiah 30:20 Lit His
Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
Jeremiah 30:21 Lit who is he that gives his heart in pledge
Jeremiah 30:23 Or raging
Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
Jeremiah 31:3 Or from far away
Jeremiah 31:4 Lit adorn yourself with
Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
Jeremiah 31:7 Lit head
Jeremiah 31:12 Lit goodness
Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
Jeremiah 31:19 I.e., in regret
Jeremiah 31:20 Lit inward parts
Jeremiah 31:21 Lit heart
Jeremiah 31:25 Lit fill
Jeremiah 31:29 I.e., the children suffer for the fathers’ sins
Jeremiah 31:35 Lit statutes
Jeremiah 31:36 Lit these statutes
Jeremiah 31:36 Lit all the days
Jeremiah 32:4 Lit mouth with mouth
Jeremiah 32:10 Lit wrote...on and
Jeremiah 32:14 Lit stand many days
Jeremiah 32:17 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Jeremiah 32:23 Or all that
Jeremiah 32:25 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Jeremiah 32:35 Lit come up on My heart
Jeremiah 32:41 Or truly
Jeremiah 32:44 Lit write on...and
Jeremiah 32:44 Lit the document
Jeremiah 32:44 I.e., South country
Jeremiah 33:2 Lit it
Jeremiah 33:3 Or incomprehensible
Jeremiah 33:5 Lit them
Jeremiah 33:9 I.e., This city
Jeremiah 33:17 Lit There shall not be cut off for David
Jeremiah 33:18 Lit there shall not be cut off for the Levitical priests
Jeremiah 33:18 Lit all the days
Jeremiah 33:22 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
Jeremiah 33:22 Lit seed
Jeremiah 33:24 Lit to their faces
Jeremiah 33:25 Lit statutes
Jeremiah 33:26 Lit seed
Jeremiah 33:26 Lit seed
Jeremiah 33:26 Lit seed
Jeremiah 34:1 Lit dominion
Jeremiah 34:3 Lit his mouth with your mouth
Jeremiah 34:8 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:14 Or has sold himself
Jeremiah 34:15 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:16 Lit made his male servant return and
Jeremiah 34:17 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:17 Or liberty
Jeremiah 35:5 Lit sons
Jeremiah 35:7 Lit shall it be to you
Jeremiah 35:7 Lit on the face of the
Jeremiah 35:19 Lit all the days
Jeremiah 36:2 Lit scroll of a book
Jeremiah 36:4 Lit scroll of a book
Jeremiah 36:4 Lit from the mouth of
Jeremiah 36:5 Lit restrained
Jeremiah 36:6 Lit from my mouth
Jeremiah 36:6 Lit in the ears of, and so throughout this ch
Jeremiah 36:6 Lit in the ears of, and so throughout this ch
Jeremiah 36:7 Lit fall
Jeremiah 36:17 Lit from his mouth
Jeremiah 36:27 Lit from his mouth
Jeremiah 36:29 Lit saying
Jeremiah 36:31 Lit seed
Jeremiah 36:32 Lit from his mouth
Jeremiah 36:32 Lit like those

Jeremiah 21-30

New International Version

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah^(A) sent to him Pashhur^(B) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah^(C) son of Maaseiah. They said: ²“Inquire^(D) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar^[a]^(E) king of Babylon^(F) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders^(G) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

³But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ⁴‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn^(H) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians^[b] who are outside the wall besieging^(I) you. And I will gather them inside this city. ⁵I myself will fight^(J) against you with an outstretched hand^(K) and a mighty arm^(L) in furious anger and in great wrath. ⁶I will strike^(M) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.^(N) ⁷After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah^(O) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,^(P) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon^(Q) and to their enemies^(R) who want to kill them.^(S) He will put them to the sword;^(T) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’^(U)

⁸“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life^(V) and the way of death. ⁹Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.^(W) But whoever goes out and surrenders^(X) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.^(Y) ¹⁰I have determined to do this city harm^(Z) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands^(AA) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’^(AB)

¹¹“Moreover, say to the royal house^(AC) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. ¹²This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“‘Administer justice^(AD) every morning;
    rescue from the hand of the oppressor^(AE)
    the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire^(AF)
    because of the evil^(AG) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench^(AH) it.
¹³I am against^(AI) you, Jerusalem,
    you who live above this valley^(AJ)
    on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
    Who can enter our refuge?”^(AK)
¹⁴I will punish you as your deeds^(AL) deserve,
    declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire^(AM) in your forests^(AN)
    that will consume everything around you.’”

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king^(AO) of Judah and proclaim this message there: ²‘Hear^(AP) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne^(AQ)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.^(AR) ³This is what the Lord says: Do what is just^(AS) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor^(AT) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,^(AU) and do not shed innocent blood^(AV) in this place. ⁴For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings^(AW) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. ⁵But if you do not obey^(AX) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear^(AY) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

⁶For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

“Though you are like Gilead^(AZ) to me,
    like the summit of Lebanon,^(BA)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,^(BB)
    like towns not inhabited.
⁷I will send destroyers^(BC) against you,
    each man with his weapons,
and they will cut^(BD) up your fine cedar beams
    and throw them into the fire.^(BE)

⁸“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’^(BF) ⁹And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.^(BG)’”

¹⁰Do not weep for the dead^(BH) king or mourn^(BI) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return^(BJ)
nor see his native land again.

¹¹For this is what the Lord says about Shallum^[c]^(BK) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. ¹²He will die^(BL) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

¹³“Woe^(BM) to him who builds^(BN) his palace by unrighteousness,
    his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
    not paying^(BO) them for their labor.
¹⁴He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace^(BP)
    with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
    panels it with cedar^(BQ)
    and decorates it in red.^(BR)

¹⁵“Does it make you a king
    to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
    He did what was right and just,^(BS)
    so all went well^(BT) with him.
¹⁶He defended the cause of the poor and needy,^(BU)
    and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know^(BV) me?”
    declares the Lord.
¹⁷“But your eyes and your heart
    are set only on dishonest gain,^(BW)
on shedding innocent blood^(BX)
    and on oppression and extortion.”^(BY)

¹⁸Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mourn^(BZ) for him:
    ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
    ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
¹⁹He will have the burial^(CA) of a donkey—
    dragged away and thrown^(CB)
    outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

²⁰“Go up to Lebanon and cry out,^(CC)
    let your voice be heard in Bashan,^(CD)
cry out from Abarim,^(CE)
    for all your allies^(CF) are crushed.
²¹I warned you when you felt secure,^(CG)
    but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;^(CH)
    you have not obeyed^(CI) me.
²²The wind^(CJ) will drive all your shepherds^(CK) away,
    and your allies^(CL) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced^(CM)
    because of all your wickedness.
²³You who live in ‘Lebanon,^[d]^(CN)’
    who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
    pain^(CO) like that of a woman in labor!

²⁴“As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin^[e]^(CP) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring^(CQ) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. ²⁵I will deliver^(CR) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.^[f] ²⁶I will hurl^(CS) you and the mother^(CT) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. ²⁷You will never come back to the land you long to return^(CU) to.”

²⁸Is this man Jehoiachin^(CV) a despised, broken pot,^(CW)
    an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled^(CX) out,
    cast into a land^(CY) they do not know?
²⁹O land,^(CZ) land, land,
    hear the word of the Lord!
³⁰This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,^(DA)
    a man who will not prosper^(DB) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring^(DC) will prosper,
    none will sit on the throne^(DD) of David
    or rule anymore in Judah.”

The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds^(DE) who are destroying and scattering^(DF) the sheep of my pasture!”^(DG) declares the Lord. ²Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds^(DH) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock^(DI) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil^(DJ) you have done,” declares the Lord. ³“I myself will gather the remnant^(DK) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,^(DL) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴I will place shepherds^(DM) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid^(DN) or terrified, nor will any be missing,^(DO)” declares the Lord.

⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David^[g] a righteous Branch,^(DP)
a King^(DQ) who will reign^(DR) wisely
    and do what is just and right^(DS) in the land.
⁶In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.^(DT)
This is the name^(DU) by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.^(DV)

⁷“So then, the days are coming,”^(DW) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’^(DX) ⁸but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”^(DY)

Lying Prophets

⁹Concerning the prophets:

My heart^(DZ) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.^(EA)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.^(EB)
¹⁰The land is full of adulterers;^(EC)
    because of the curse^[h]^(ED) the land lies parched
    and the pastures^(EE) in the wilderness are withered.^(EF)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

¹¹“Both prophet and priest are godless;^(EG)
    even in my temple^(EH) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore their path will become slippery;^(EI)
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,^(EJ)”
declares the Lord.

¹³“Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal^(EK)
    and led my people Israel astray.^(EL)
¹⁴And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:^(EM)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.^(EN)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,^(EO)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.^(EP)
They are all like Sodom^(EQ) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”^(ER)

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,^(ES)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^(ET) has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen^(EU) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions^(EV) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth^(EW) of the Lord.
¹⁷They keep saying^(EX) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’^(EY)
And to all who follow the stubbornness^(EZ) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm^(FA) will come to you.’
¹⁸But which of them has stood in the council^(FB) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹See, the storm^(FC) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind^(FD) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰The anger^(FE) of the Lord will not turn back^(FF)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹I did not send^(FG) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
²²But if they had stood in my council,^(FH)
    they would have proclaimed^(FI) my words to my people
and would have turned^(FJ) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.^(FK)

²³“Am I only a God nearby,^(FL)”
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
²⁴Who can hide^(FM) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”^(FN)
declares the Lord.

²⁵“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies^(FO) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!^(FP) I had a dream!’ ²⁶How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions^(FQ) of their own minds?^(FR) ²⁷They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget^(FS) my name, just as their ancestors forgot^(FT) my name through Baal worship.^(FU) ²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream^(FV) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word^(FW) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹“Is not my word like fire,”^(FX) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer^(FY) that breaks a rock in pieces?

³⁰“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against^(FZ) the prophets^(GA) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. ³¹Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’^(GB) ³²Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,^(GC)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray^(GD) with their reckless lies,^(GE) yet I did not send^(GF) or appoint them. They do not benefit^(GG) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

False Prophecy

³³“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message^(GH) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake^(GI) you, declares the Lord.’ ³⁴If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message^(GJ) from the Lord,’ I will punish^(GK) them and their household. ³⁵This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’^(GL) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort^(GM) the words of the living God,^(GN) the Lord Almighty, our God. ³⁷This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ ³⁹Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast^(GO) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. ⁴⁰I will bring on you everlasting disgrace^(GP)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

Two Baskets of Figs

24 After Jehoiachin^[i]^(GQ) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs^(GR) placed in front of the temple of the Lord. ²One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;^(GS) the other basket had very bad^(GT) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

³Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,^(GU) Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁵“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent^(GV) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^[j] ⁶My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back^(GW) to this land. I will build^(GX) them up and not tear them down; I will plant^(GY) them and not uproot them. ⁷I will give them a heart to know^(GZ) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,^(HA) and I will be their God, for they will return^(HB) to me with all their heart.^(HC)

⁸“‘But like the bad^(HD) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah^(HE) king of Judah, his officials^(HF) and the survivors^(HG) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.^(HH) ⁹I will make them abhorrent^(HI) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,^(HJ) a curse^[k]^(HK) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish^(HL) them. ¹⁰I will send the sword,^(HM) famine^(HN) and plague^(HO) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.^(HP)’”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(HQ) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar^(HR) king of Babylon. ²So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^(HS) and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah^(HT) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,^(HU) but you have not listened.^(HV)

⁴And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets^(HW) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.^(HX) ⁵They said, “Turn^(HY) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land^(HZ) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶Do not follow other gods^(IA) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused^(IB) my anger with what your hands have made,^(IC) and you have brought harm^(ID) to yourselves.”

⁸Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹I will summon^(IE) all the peoples of the north^(IF) and my servant^(IG) Nebuchadnezzar^(IH) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[l]^(II) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^(IJ) and an everlasting ruin.^(IK) ¹⁰I will banish from them the sounds^(IL) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^(IM) the sound of millstones^(IN) and the light of the lamp.^(IO) ¹¹This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^(IP) and these nations will serve^(IQ) the king of Babylon seventy years.^(IR)

¹²“But when the seventy years^(IS) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon^(IT) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,^[m] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate^(IU) forever. ¹³I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written^(IV) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴They themselves will be enslaved^(IW) by many nations^(IX) and great kings; I will repay^(IY) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup^(IZ) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send^(JA) you drink it. ¹⁶When they drink^(JB) it, they will stagger^(JC) and go mad^(JD) because of the sword^(JE) I will send among them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent^(JF) me drink it: ¹⁸Jerusalem^(JG) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin^(JH) and an object of horror and scorn,^(JI) a curse^[n]^(JJ)—as they are today;^(JK) ¹⁹Pharaoh king^(JL) of Egypt,^(JM) his attendants, his officials and all his people, ²⁰and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;^(JN) all the kings of the Philistines^(JO) (those of Ashkelon,^(JP) Gaza,^(JQ) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); ²¹Edom,^(JR) Moab^(JS) and Ammon;^(JT) ²²all the kings of Tyre^(JU) and Sidon;^(JV) the kings of the coastlands^(JW) across the sea; ²³Dedan,^(JX) Tema,^(JY) Buz^(JZ) and all who are in distant places^[o];^(KA) ²⁴all the kings of Arabia^(KB) and all the kings of the foreign people^(KC) who live in the wilderness; ²⁵all the kings of Zimri,^(KD) Elam^(KE) and Media;^(KF) ²⁶and all the kings of the north,^(KG) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms^(KH) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak^[p]^(KI) will drink it too.

²⁷“Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk^(KJ) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword^(KK) I will send among you.’ ²⁸But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink^(KL), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! ²⁹See, I am beginning to bring disaster^(KM) on the city that bears my Name,^(KN) and will you indeed go unpunished?^(KO) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword^(KP) on all^(KQ) who live on the earth,^(KR) declares the Lord Almighty.’

³⁰“Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“‘The Lord will roar^(KS) from on high;
    he will thunder^(KT) from his holy dwelling^(KU)
    and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread^(KV) the grapes,
    shout against all who live on the earth.
³¹The tumult^(KW) will resound to the ends of the earth,
    for the Lord will bring charges^(KX) against the nations;
he will bring judgment^(KY) on all^(KZ) mankind
    and put the wicked to the sword,^(LA)’”
declares the Lord.

³²This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster^(LB) is spreading
from nation to nation;^(LC)
a mighty storm^(LD) is rising
from the ends of the earth.”^(LE)

³³At that time those slain^(LF) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered^(LG) up or buried,^(LH) but will be like dung lying on the ground.

³⁴Weep and wail, you shepherds;^(LI)
    roll^(LJ) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered^(LK) has come;
    you will fall like the best of the rams.^[q]^(LL)
³⁵The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
    the leaders of the flock no place to escape.^(LM)
³⁶Hear the cry^(LN) of the shepherds,^(LO)
    the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
    for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
³⁷The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
    because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸Like a lion^(LP) he will leave his lair,
    and their land will become desolate^(LQ)
because of the sword^[r] of the oppressor^(LR)
    and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.^(LS)

Jeremiah Threatened With Death

26 Early in the reign of Jehoiakim^(LT) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard^(LU) of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord.^(LV) Tell^(LW) them everything I command you; do not omit^(LX) a word. ³Perhaps they will listen and each will turn^(LY) from their evil ways. Then I will relent^(LZ) and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. ⁴Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen^(MA) to me and follow my law,^(MB) which I have set before you, ⁵and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened^(MC)), ⁶then I will make this house like Shiloh^(MD) and this city a curse^[s]^(ME) among all the nations of the earth.’”

⁷The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded^(MF) him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized^(MG) him and said, “You must die!^(MH) ⁹Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?”^(MI) And all the people crowded^(MJ) around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the officials^(MK) of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate^(ML) of the Lord’s house. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death^(MM) because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”^(MN)

¹²Then Jeremiah said to all the officials^(MO) and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy^(MP) against this house and this city all the things you have heard.^(MQ) ¹³Now reform^(MR) your ways and your actions and obey^(MS) the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent^(MT) and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, I am in your hands;^(MU) do with me whatever you think is good and right. ¹⁵Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood^(MV) on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words^(MW) in your hearing.”

¹⁶Then the officials^(MX) and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death!^(MY) He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, ¹⁸“Micah^(MZ) of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“‘Zion^(NA) will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,^(NB)
the temple hill^(NC) a mound overgrown with thickets.’^[t]^(ND)

¹⁹“Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah^(NE) fear the Lord and seek^(NF) his favor? And did not the Lord relent,^(NG) so that he did not bring the disaster^(NH) he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster^(NI) on ourselves!”

²⁰(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim^(NJ) was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. ²¹When King Jehoiakim^(NK) and all his officers and officials^(NL) heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death.^(NM) But Uriah heard of it and fled^(NN) in fear to Egypt. ²²King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan^(NO) son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. ²³They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword^(NP) and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)^(NQ)

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

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah^[u]^(NS) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke^(NT) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. ³Then send^(NU) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,^(NV) Tyre and Sidon^(NW) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: ⁵With my great power and outstretched arm^(NX) I made^(NY) the earth and its people and the animals^(NZ) that are on it, and I give^(OA) it to anyone I please. ⁶Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant^(OB) Nebuchadnezzar^(OC) king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.^(OD) ⁷All nations will serve^(OE) him and his son and his grandson until the time^(OF) for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate^(OG) him.

⁸“‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish^(OH) that nation with the sword,^(OI) famine^(OJ) and plague,^(OK) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. ⁹So do not listen to your prophets,^(OL) your diviners,^(OM) your interpreters of dreams,^(ON) your mediums^(OO) or your sorcerers^(OP) who tell you, ‘You will not serve^(OQ) the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰They prophesy lies^(OR) to you that will only serve to remove^(OS) you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. ¹¹But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke^(OT) of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live^(OU) there, declares the Lord.”’”

¹²I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^(OV) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^(OW) ¹³Why will you and your people die^(OX) by the sword, famine and plague^(OY) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Do not listen^(OZ) to the words of the prophets^(PA) who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies^(PB) to you. ¹⁵‘I have not sent^(PC) them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.^(PD) Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,^(PE) both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

¹⁶Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles^(PF) from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷Do not listen^(PG) to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.^(PH) Why should this city become a ruin? ¹⁸If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead^(PI) with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. ¹⁹For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,^(PJ) the movable stands and the other articles^(PK) that are left in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried^(PL) Jehoiachin^[v]^(PM) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²²‘They will be taken^(PN) to Babylon and there they will remain until the day^(PO) I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring^(PP) them back and restore them to this place.’”

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah^(PQ) king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon,^(PR) said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: ²“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke^(PS) of the king of Babylon. ³Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles^(PT) of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. ⁴I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin^[w]^(PU) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”^(PV)

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.^(PW) ⁷Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague^(PX) against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.^(PY)”

¹⁰Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke^(PZ) off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, ¹¹and he said^(QA) before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

¹²After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. ¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke^(QB) on the necks of all these nations to make them serve^(QC) Nebuchadnezzar^(QD) king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.^(QE)’”

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent^(QF) you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.^(QG) ¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.^(QH) This very year you are going to die,^(QI) because you have preached rebellion^(QJ) against the Lord.’”

¹⁷In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.^(QK)

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(QL) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^(QM) ²(This was after King Jehoiachin^[x]^(QN) and the queen mother,^(QO) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) ³He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(QP) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵“Build^(QQ) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.^(QR) ⁷Also, seek^(QS) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(QT) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets^(QU) and diviners among you deceive^(QV) you. Do not listen to the dreams^(QW) you encourage them to have.^(QX) ⁹They are prophesying lies^(QY) to you in my name. I have not sent^(QZ) them,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years^(RA) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you^(RB) and fulfill my good promise^(RC) to bring you back^(RD) to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans^(RE) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper^(RF) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.^(RG) ¹²Then you will call^(RH) on me and come and pray^(RI) to me, and I will listen^(RJ) to you. ¹³You will seek^(RK) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.^(RL) ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back^(RM) from captivity.^[y] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”^(RN)

¹⁵You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— ¹⁷yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague^(RO) against them and I will make them like figs^(RP) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent^(RQ) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse^[z]^(RR) and an object of horror,^(RS) of scorn^(RT) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,”^(RU) declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again^(RV) by my servants the prophets.^(RW) And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent^(RX) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies^(RY) to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. ²²Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned^(RZ) in the fire.’ ²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery^(SA) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know^(SB) it and am a witness^(SC) to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(SD) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac^(SE) who acts like a prophet into the stocks^(SF) and neck-irons. ²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has sent this message^(SG) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.^(SH) Therefore build^(SI) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹Zephaniah^(SJ) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah^(SK) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send^(SL) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, ³²this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.^(SM) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good^(SN) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion^(SO) against me.’”

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write^(SP) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³The days^(SQ) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring^(SR) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity^[aa] and restore^(SS) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

⁴These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear^(ST) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
⁶Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,^(SU)
    every face turned deathly pale?^(SV)
⁷How awful that day^(SW) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble^(SX) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved^(SY) out of it.

⁸“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke^(SZ) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;^(TA)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.^(TB)
⁹Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David^(TC) their king,^(TD)
    whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“‘So do not be afraid,^(TE) Jacob my servant;^(TF)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save^(TG) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,^(TH)
    and no one will make him afraid.^(TI)
¹¹I am with you^(TJ) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy^(TK) you.
I will discipline^(TL) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’^(TM)

¹²“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound^(TN) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.^(TO)
¹³There is no one to plead your cause,^(TP)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing^(TQ) for you.
¹⁴All your allies^(TR) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy^(TS) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,^(TT)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins^(TU) so many.
¹⁵Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?^(TV)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.^(TW)

¹⁶“‘But all who devour^(TX) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.^(TY)
Those who plunder^(TZ) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷But I will restore you to health
    and heal^(UA) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,^(UB)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’^(UC)

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes^(UD) of Jacob’s tents^(UE)
    and have compassion^(UF) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt^(UG) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹From them will come songs^(UH) of thanksgiving^(UI)
    and the sound of rejoicing.^(UJ)
I will add to their numbers,^(UK)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,^(UL)
    and they will not be disdained.
²⁰Their children^(UM) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established^(UN) before me;
    I will punish^(UO) all who oppress them.
²¹Their leader^(UP) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.^(UQ)
I will bring him near^(UR) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
²²“‘So you will be my people,^(US)
    and I will be your God.^(UT)’”

²³See, the storm^(UU) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger
Jeremiah 26:6 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed.
Jeremiah 26:18 Micah 3:12
Jeremiah 27:1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also 27:3,12 and 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim (Most Septuagint manuscripts do not have this verse.)
Jeremiah 27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 21-36 New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

Messages about the Kings

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

False Prophets Denounced

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

Prophecy of the Captivity

Babylon Will Be Judged

Cities of Judah Warned

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

Jeremiah Is Spared

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

Message to the Exiles

Liberation from Captivity Promised

Restoration of Jacob

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

A New Covenant

Jeremiah Imprisoned

Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

Restoration Promised

The Davidic Kingdom

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

The Rechabites’ Obedience

Judah Rebuked

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

The Scroll Is Burned

The Scroll Is Replaced

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 21-30 New International Version

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

The Righteous Branch

Lying Prophets

False Prophecy

Two Baskets of Figs

Seventy Years of Captivity

The Cup of God’s Wrath

Jeremiah Threatened With Death

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

The False Prophet Hananiah

A Letter to the Exiles

Message to Shemaiah

Restoration of Israel

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 21-36

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah 21-30

New International Version