Bible in 90 Days
23 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not seen what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The (A)two families which Yahweh chose, He has (B)rejected them’? Thus they have (C)spurned My people from being a nation any longer [a]in their sight. 25 Thus says Yahweh, ‘If My (D)covenant for day and night stand not, and the statutes for heaven and earth I have (E)not established, 26 then I would (F)reject the seed of Jacob and David My servant, [b]not taking from his seed (G)rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will [c](H)return their [d]fortunes and will have (I)compassion on them.’”
A Prophecy Against Zedekiah
34 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when (J)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his military force, with (K)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his [e]dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(L)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, (M)I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and (N)he will burn it with fire. 3 (O)And you will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be seized and given into his hand; and you will (P)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you [f]face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ 4 Yet hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says Yahweh concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword. 5 You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will (Q)burn spices for you; and (R)they will lament for you, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares Yahweh.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke (S)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the military force of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, that is, (T)Lachish and (U)Azekah, for they alone remained as (V)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.
8 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had (W)cut a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to (X)proclaim [g]release to them: 9 that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, a (Y)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that (Z)no one should enslave them, each being a Jew, his brother. 10 And all the (AA)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, so that no one should enslave them any longer; they obeyed and let them go free. 11 But afterwards they turned around and returned to themselves the male slaves and the female slaves, whom they had let go as free, and subdued them to be male slaves and female slaves.
12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I (AB)cut a covenant with your fathers in the day that I (AC)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, saying, 14 “(AD)At the end of seven years each of you shall let his Hebrew brother go who [h]has been sold to you and has served you six years, and you shall let him go to be free from you; but your fathers (AE)did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 Although recently you had turned and (AF)done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming [i]release to his neighbor, and you had (AG)cut a covenant before Me (AH)in the house which is called by My name. 16 Yet you (AI)turned and (AJ)profaned My name, and each man [j]returned to themselves his male slave and each man his female slave whom you had let go as free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be your male slaves and female slaves.”’
17 “Therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming [k]release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am (AK)proclaiming a [l]release to you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘to the (AL)sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a (AM)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men who have (AN)trespassed against My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant which they cut before Me, when they (AO)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— 19 the (AP)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who (AQ)seek their life. And their (AR)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21 (AS)And as for Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life and into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon which has (AT)gone away from you. 22 Behold, I am going to command,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will cause them to return to this city; and they will fight against it and (AU)capture it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a (AV)desolation (AW)without inhabitant.’”
The Rechabites Listen to Jonadab
35 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of (AX)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the (AY)Rechabites and speak to them and bring them into the house of Yahweh, into one of the (AZ)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the (BA)man of God, which was beside the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, (BB)the doorkeeper. 5 Then I put before the [m]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “(BC)Drink wine!” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for (BD)Jonadab the son of (BE)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall (BF)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7 And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but (BG)tents you shall inhabit all your days, that you may live (BH)many days in the land where you (BI)sojourn.’ 8 So we have (BJ)listened to 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, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to inhabit; and we (BK)do not have vineyard or field or seed. 10 We have only (BL)inhabited tents and have listened and have done according to all that (BM)Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But it happened that when (BN)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, let us (BO)come to Jerusalem before the military force of the Chaldeans and before the military force of the Arameans.’ So we have inhabited Jerusalem.”
Yahweh Warns of Judah’s Discipline
12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “(BP)Will you not receive discipline by listening to My words?” declares Yahweh. 14 “The (BQ)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are established. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have listened to their father’s command. But I have spoken to you, (BR)rising up early and speaking; yet you have (BS)not listened to Me. 15 Also I have sent to you all My (BT)slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying: ‘(BU)Turn now every man from his evil way and make good your deeds, and (BV)do not walk after other gods to [n]serve them. Then you will (BW)inhabit the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but you have not (BX)inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have (BY)established the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, (BZ)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the harmful evil that I have spoken against them because I (CA)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have (CB)listened to the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Jonadab the son of Rechab (CC)shall not have a man cut off from (CD)standing before Me [o]always.”’”
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
36 Now it happened that in the (CE)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2 “Take a (CF)scroll of a book and write on it all the (CG)words which I have spoken to you concerning (CH)Israel and concerning Judah and concerning all the (CI)nations, from the (CJ)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. 3 (CK)Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I devise [p]to bring on them, in order that every man will (CL)turn from his evil way; then I will (CM)forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah called (CN)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a [q](CO)scroll [r]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of Yahweh which He had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am [s](CP)confined; I cannot go into the house of Yahweh. 6 So you shall go and (CQ)read from the scroll, which you have (CR)written [t]at my dictation, the words of Yahweh [u]in the hearing of the people in the house of Yahweh on a (CS)fast day. And also you shall read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 7 (CT)Perhaps their supplication will [v]come before Yahweh, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for (CU)great is the anger and the wrath that Yahweh has spoken against this people.” 8 So Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, (CV)reading from the book the words of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.
9 Now it happened in the (CW)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the (CX)ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who (CY)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem called for a (CZ)fast before Yahweh. 10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh in the (DA)chamber of (DB)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the (DC)scribe, in the upper court, at the (DD)entry of the New Gate of the house of Yahweh, in the hearing of all the people.
11 Then (DE)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of Yahweh from the book. 12 And he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—(DF)Elishama the scribe, and (DG)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and (DH)Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 And Micaiah (DI)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent (DJ)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah (DK)took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch (DL)read it in their hearing. 16 Now it happened that when they heard all the words, they turned in (DM)dread one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely (DN)declare all these words to the king.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Declare to us, please, (DO)how did you write all these words? Was it [w]at his dictation?” 18 Then Baruch said to them, “He (DP)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, (DQ)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”
The Scroll Is Burned
20 So they went to the (DR)king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of (DS)Elishama the scribe, and they declared all the words in the hearing of the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi (DT)read it in the hearing of the king as well as in the hearing of all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the (DU)winter house in the (DV)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23 And it happened that when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and (DW)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll [x]was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were (DX)not in dread, nor did they (DY)tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah (DZ)interceded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to (EA)take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but (EB)Yahweh hid them.
The Scroll Is Replaced
27 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after the king had (EC)burned the scroll and the words which (ED)Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28 “(EE)Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were (EF)on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You have (EG)burned this scroll, saying, ‘(EH)Why have you written on it [y]that the (EI)king of Babylon will certainly come and make this land a ruin and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 30 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have (EJ)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his (EK)dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 And I will also (EL)punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity, and I will (EM)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the evil that I have spoken about to them—but they did not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he (EN)wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many [z]similar words were added to them.
Jeremiah Warns Against Trust in Pharaoh
37 Now (EO)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had (EP)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of (EQ)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But (ER)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of Yahweh which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet (ES)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and (ET)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “(EU)Please pray to Yahweh our God on our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people; they had not yet (EV)put him in the prison. 5 Meanwhile, (EW)Pharaoh’s military force had come out from Egypt; and the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them. So they (EX)withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(EY)Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, (EZ)the military force of Pharaoh which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 The Chaldeans will also (FA)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Do not (FB)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For (FC)even if you had struck down the entire military force of the Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men remaining among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and (FD)burn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now it happened when the military force of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of the military force of Pharaoh, 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to (FE)obtain his portion of some property there among the people. 13 Now it happened that while he was at the (FF)Gate of Benjamin, the master of the guard whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he (FG)seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are [aa]going over to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “(FH)A lie! I am not [ab]going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were (FI)angry at Jeremiah and struck him, and they (FJ)put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made that house into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [ac](FK)pit, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king (FL)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a (FM)word from Yahweh?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be (FN)given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “(FO)In what way have I sinned against you or against your servants or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 (FP)Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The (FQ)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my (FR)supplication [ad]come before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the (FS)court of the guard and gave him a loaf of (FT)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city had (FU)come to an end. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Jeremiah Brought Up from the Cistern
38 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the (FV)son of Shelemiah, and (FW)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who (FX)stays in this city will die by the (FY)sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own (FZ)life as spoil and stay alive.’ 3 Thus says Yahweh, ‘This city will certainly be (GA)given into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’” 4 Then the (GB)officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is (GC)making the hands of the men of war who remain in this city as well as the hands of all the people limp, by speaking such words to them; for this man (GD)is not seeking peace for this people but rather calamity.” 5 So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your [ae]hands; for the king (GE)can do nothing against you.” 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the [af](GF)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only (GG)mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire. 7 But (GH)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, [ag]a (GI)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the (GJ)Gate of Benjamin; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he [ah]will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is (GK)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take in your hand thirty men from here and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men in his hand and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the (GL)court of the guard.
Zedekiah Sends for Jeremiah
14 Then King Zedekiah (GM)sent and [ai]had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of Yahweh; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to (GN)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(GO)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in (GP)secret saying, “As Yahweh lives, who made this [aj](GQ)life for us, surely I will not put you to death, nor will I give you over to the hand of (GR)these men who are seeking your [ak]life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says Yahweh (GS)God of hosts, the (GT)God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed (GU)go out to the [al]officers of the king of Babylon, then [am]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will live. 18 But if you will (GV)not go out to the [an]officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (GW)will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (GX)you yourself will not escape from their hand.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I (GY)am anxious because of the Jews who have [ao](GZ)gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand and they (HA)deal severely with me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please (HB)listen to the voice of Yahweh in what I am saying to you, that it may go (HC)well with you and [ap](HD)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which Yahweh has shown me: 22 ‘And behold, all of the (HE)women who have remained in the house of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the [aq]officers of the king of Babylon; and behold, those women will say,
“[ar]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mud,
They turned back.”
23 And they will also bring out all your wives and your (HF)sons to the Chaldeans, and (HG)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (HH)this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25 But if the (HI)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was (HJ)presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he told them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him since the [as]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (HK)stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
The Walls of Jerusalem Torn Down
39 [at]Now when Jerusalem was captured [au](HL)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his military force came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; 2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city was (HM)breached. 3 Then all the (HN)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the (HO)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the [av]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [aw]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 Now it happened that when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they (HP)fled and went out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate (HQ)between the two walls; and he went out toward the [ax]Arabah. 5 But the military force of the (HR)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the [ay](HS)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at (HT)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he spoke judgment on him. 6 Then the (HU)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah (HV)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the (HW)nobles of Judah. 7 He then (HX)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in (HY)fetters of bronze to bring him to (HZ)Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans also (IA)burned with fire the house of the king and the houses of the people, and they (IB)tore down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 And as for the rest of the people who remained in the city, the [az](IC)defectors who had gone over to him and (ID)the rest of the people who remained, (IE)Nebuzaradan the (IF)captain of the bodyguard took them away into exile in Babylon. 10 But some of the (IG)poorest people who had nothing, (IH)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had them remain in the land of Judah and gave them vineyards and fields [ba]at that time.
Jeremiah Delivered
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave a command about (II)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, 12 “Take him and set your eyes to look after him and (IJ)do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he speaks to you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the [bb]Rab-saris and Nergal-sar-ezer the [bc]Rab-mag and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; 14 they even sent and (IK)took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and gave him over to (IL)Gedaliah, the son of (IM)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.
15 Now the word of Yahweh had come to Jeremiah while he was (IN)confined in the court of the guard, saying, 16 “Go and speak to (IO)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city (IP)for [bd]calamity and not for [be]prosperity; and they will (IQ)take place before you on that day. 17 But I will (IR)deliver you on that day,” declares Yahweh, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are terrified. 18 For I will certainly provide you escape, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own (IS)life as spoil because you have (IT)trusted in Me,” declares Yahweh.’”
Jeremiah Stays in Judah
40 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after (IU)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from (IV)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in (IW)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2 And the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “(IX)Yahweh your God promised this calamity against this place; 3 and Yahweh has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people (IY)sinned against Yahweh and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you. 4 So now, behold, I am (IZ)freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will set my eyes to look after you; but if it [bf]is displeasing in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, [bg]never mind. Look, the (JA)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right in your eyes to go.” 5 But as [bh]Jeremiah had not yet set out to return, [bi]he said, “Return then to (JB)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has (JC)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere that is right in your eyes to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a (JD)ration and a (JE)gift and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to (JF)Mizpah to (JG)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.
7 (JH)Then all the [bj]commanders of the military forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had appointed him over the men, women, little ones, and those of the (JI)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. 8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with (JJ)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and (JK)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the (JL)Netophathite, and (JM)Jezaniah the son of the (JN)Maacathite, both they and their men. 9 Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, (JO)swore to them and to their men, saying, “(JP)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you. 10 Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to (JQ)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, (JR)gather in wine and (JS)summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels and stay in your cities that you have seized.” 11 And also all the Jews, who were in (JT)Moab and among the sons of (JU)Ammon and in (JV)Edom and who were in all the other lands, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. 12 Then all the Jews (JW)returned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.
13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Do you indeed know that Baalis the king of the sons of (JX)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to strike down your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “(JY)Let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he (JZ)strike down your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the (KA)remnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “(KB)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”
Ishmael Strikes Down Gedaliah
41 (KC)Now it happened in the seventh month, that (KD)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to (KE)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And they (KF)were eating bread together there in Mizpah. 2 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and (KG)struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and (KH)put to death the one (KI)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4 Now it happened on the [bk]next day after putting Gedaliah to death, when no one knew about it, 5 that eighty men (KJ)came from (KK)Shechem, from (KL)Shiloh, and from (KM)Samaria with (KN)their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and [bl]their bodies (KO)gashed, having grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring to the (KP)house of Yahweh. 6 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, (KQ)weeping as he went; and it happened that as he encountered them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” 7 But it happened that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him (KR)slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern. 8 But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death; for we have (KS)stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their [bm]companions.
9 Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down [bn]because of Gedaliah, it was the (KT)one that King Asa had made on (KU)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the (KV)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the (KW)king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and went to cross over to the sons of (KX)Ammon.
Johanan Rescues the People
11 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the (KY)commanders of the military forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done. 12 So they took all the men and went to (KZ)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and they found him by the (LA)great [bo]pool that is in Gibeon. 13 Now it happened as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were with him, they were glad. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah (LB)escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were with him took from Mizpah (LC)all the remnant of the people whom he had returned from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the mighty men who were men of war, the women, the little ones, and the eunuchs, whom he had returned from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed in [bp](LD)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to (LE)proceed into Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were (LF)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom (LG)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray
42 Then all the [bq]commanders of the military forces, (LH)Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people (LI)both small and great approached 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our (LJ)supplication [br]come before you, and (LK)pray for us to Yahweh your God, that is for all this remnant, because we remain but a (LL)few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, 3 that Yahweh your God may tell us the (LM)way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.” 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to (LN)pray to Yahweh your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole [bs]message which (LO)Yahweh will answer you. I will (LP)not keep back a word from you.” 5 And they said to Jeremiah, “May (LQ)Yahweh be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole [bt]message with which Yahweh your God will send you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will (LR)listen to the voice of Yahweh our God to whom we are sending you, so that good (LS)may come to us when we listen to the voice of Yahweh our God.”
7 Now it happened that at the (LT)end of ten days the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the [bu]commanders of the military forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, 9 and said to them, “Thus (LU)says Yahweh the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before Him: 10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will (LV)build you up and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I have [bv](LW)relented of the calamity that I have done against you. 11 (LX)Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for (LY)I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12 I will also show you compassion, so that (LZ)he will have compassion on you and return you to your own soil. 13 But if you are going to say, “We will (MA)not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, 14 saying, “No, but we will (MB)go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or (MC)hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there,” 15 then now, listen to the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your face to enter (MD)Egypt, and you will enter to sojourn there, 16 then the (ME)sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will [bw]follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. 17 So all the men who set their face to go to Egypt to sojourn there will die by the (MF)sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and they will (MG)have no survivors or any who escaped from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.”’”
18 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My (MH)anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a (MI)curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a reproach; and (MJ)you will see this place no more.” 19 Yahweh has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, “Do not (MK)go into Egypt!” You should clearly (ML)know that today I have (MM)testified against you. 20 For you have only [bx](MN)led yourselves astray; for it is you who sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, “Pray for us to Yahweh our God; and according to all that Yahweh our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.” 21 So I have (MO)told you today, but you have (MP)not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God, even according to all that He has sent me to tell you. 22 So now, you should clearly know that you will (MQ)die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, in the (MR)place where you desire to go to sojourn.
Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
43 But it happened that as soon as Jeremiah, whom Yahweh their God had sent, had (MS)finished speaking to all the people all the words of Yahweh their God—that is, all these words— 2 Azariah the (MT)son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are (MU)speaking a lie! Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to sojourn there’; 3 but (MV)Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” 4 So (MW)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the [by]commanders of the military forces and all the people (MX)did not listen to the voice of Yahweh to (MY)stay in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the [bz]commanders of the military forces took the (MZ)entire remnant of Judah, who had returned from all the nations to which they had been banished, in order to sojourn in the land of Judah— 6 the men, the women, the little ones, the (NA)king’s daughters, and (NB)every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [ca]and grandson of Shaphan, together with (NC)Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— 7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh) and went in as far as (ND)Tahpanhes.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah in (NE)Tahpanhes, saying, 9 “Take some large stones in your [cb]hands and hide them in the mortar in the [cc]brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of [cd]some of the Jews; 10 and you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get (NF)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (NG)My servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his (NH)canopy over them. 11 He will also come and (NI)strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and (NJ)those for the sword to the sword. 12 And [ce]I shall set fire to the houses of the (NK)gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will (NL)wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will also shatter the [cf]sacred pillars of [cg]Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.”’”
Wrath Against the Israelites in Egypt
44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in (NM)Migdol, (NN)Tahpanhes, (NO)Memphis, and the land of (NP)Pathros, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a (NQ)waste place and no one lives in them 3 (NR)because of their evil which they did so as to (NS)provoke Me to anger by continuing to (NT)burn incense and to (NU)serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I (NV)sent you all My slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying, “Oh, do not do this (NW)abominable thing which I hate.” 5 But (NX)they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their evil, so as not to burn incense to other gods. 6 Therefore My (NY)wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the (NZ)cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a waste place and a (OA)desolation as it is this day. 7 So now, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Why are you (OB)doing great evil against yourselves, so as to (OC)cut off from you man and woman, infant and nursing baby, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant, 8 (OD)provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, (OE)burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to sojourn, so that you might be cut off and become an (OF)imprecation and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the (OG)evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, and the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 But they (OH)have not become [ch]contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor (OI)walked in My law or My statutes, which I have put before you and before your fathers.”’
11 “Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to (OJ)set My face against you for your evil demise, even to cut off all Judah. 12 And I will (OK)take away the remnant of Judah who have set their face on entering the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they will all [ci](OL)meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and [cj]meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a (OM)curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a reproach. 13 And I will (ON)punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence. 14 So there will be (OO)no one who escapes or any survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to sojourn there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are [ck](OP)longing to return to live; for none will (OQ)return except a few who escape.’”
15 Then (OR)all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, [cl]including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered to Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the [cm](OS)message that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, (OT)we are not going to listen to you! 17 But rather we will certainly (OU)carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, [cn]by burning incense to the (OV)queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as (OW)we ourselves, our fathers, our kings, and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had (OX)plenty of [co]food and were well off and saw no evil. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have (OY)lacked everything and have [cp]met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women, “when we were (OZ)burning incense to the queen of heaven and [cq]were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it (PA)without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes [cr]in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were answering him with such a word—saying, 21 “As for the [cs](PB)smoking sacrifices that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the (PC)streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Yahweh (PD)remember them and did not all this come upon His heart? 22 So Yahweh was (PE)no longer able to bear it, (PF)because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have done; thus your land has become a (PG)waste place, an object of horror, and an imprecation, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned incense and have sinned against Yahweh and (PH)not listened to the voice of Yahweh or (PI)walked in His law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this (PJ)evil has befallen you, as it has this day.”
24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “(PK)Hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are (PL)in the land of Egypt, 25 thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will (PM)certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” [ct](PN)Go ahead and establish your vows, and certainly perform your vows!’ 26 [cu]Nevertheless, hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have (PO)sworn by My great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘(PP)never shall My name be called upon again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “(PQ)As Lord Yahweh lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them (PR)for [cv]evil and not for good, and (PS)all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will [cw]meet their end by the sword and by famine until they [cx]are completely consumed. 28 (PT)Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah [cy](PU)few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to sojourn there will know (PV)whose word will be established, Mine or theirs. 29 This will be the (PW)sign to you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that (PX)My words will surely be established against you for [cz]evil.’ 30 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am going to give over (PY)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over (PZ)Zedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”
Word to Baruch
45 This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to (QA)Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had (QB)written down these words in a book [da]at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the (QC)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2 “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Ah, woe is me! For Yahweh has added sorrow to my pain; I am (QD)weary with my sighing and have found no rest.”’ 4 Thus you are to say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, (QE)what I have built I am about to pull down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.” 5 But as for you, are you (QF)seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to (QG)bring calamity on all flesh,’ declares Yahweh, ‘but I will (QH)give your life to you as spoil in all the places where you may go.’”
Word Against Egypt
46 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet (QI)concerning the nations.
2 To (QJ)Egypt, concerning the military force of (QK)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at (QL)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down in the (QM)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “(QN)Arrange the shield and large shield,
And draw near for the battle!
4 Harness the horses,
And [db]mount the steeds,
And take your stand with helmets on!
(QO)Polish the spears,
Put on the (QP)scale-armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are shattered;
They are (QQ)drawing back,
And their (QR)mighty men are crushed
And have fled to refuge,
Without facing back;
[dc](QS)Terror is on every side!”
Declares Yahweh.
6 Let not the (QT)swift man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have (QU)stumbled and fallen.
7 Who is this that (QV)rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters toss about?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
Even like the rivers whose waters toss about;
And He has said, “I will (QW)rise and cover that land;
I will surely (QX)cause the city to perish, as well as its inhabitants.”
9 Go up, you horses, and [dd](QY)drive madly, you chariots,
That the mighty men may go forth:
[de]Ethiopia and [df](QZ)Put, who seize the shield,
And the [dg](RA)Lydians, who seize and bend the bow.
10 Indeed, (RB)that day belongs to Lord Yahweh of hosts,
A day of (RC)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His adversaries;
And the (RD)sword will devour and be satiated
And [dh]drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a (RE)sacrifice to Lord Yahweh of hosts
In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
11 Go (RF)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
(RG)O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied [di]remedies;
There is (RH)no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your (RI)disgrace,
And the earth is full of your (RJ)outcry;
For one (RK)warrior has stumbled over [dj]another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13 This is the [dk]message which Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the (RL)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to (RM)strike down the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and cause it to be heard in (RN)Migdol;
Cause it to be heard also in Memphis and (RO)Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the (RP)sword has devoured those around you.’
15 Why are your (RQ)mighty ones thrown down?
They do not stand because Yahweh has (RR)thrust them down.
16 They have repeatedly (RS)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Rise up! And (RT)let us return
To our own people and land of our birth
Away from the [dl](RU)sword of the oppressor.’
17 [dm]They called out there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but (RV)a rumbling;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 As I live,” declares the (RW)King
Whose name is Yahweh of hosts,
“Surely one shall come who looms up like (RX)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like (RY)Carmel by the sea.
19 Make your baggage ready for (RZ)exile,
O inhabitant of the (SA)daughter of Egypt,
For (SB)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will even be turned into ruin and without inhabitants.
20 Egypt is a pretty (SC)heifer,
But a [dn]horsefly is coming (SD)from the north—it is coming!
21 Also her (SE)mercenaries in her midst
Are like [do]fattened (SF)calves,
For even they have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their disaster has come upon them,
The time of their (SG)punishment.
22 Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on [dp]like a military force
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 They have cut down her (SH)forest,” declares Yahweh;
“Surely it will no longer be searched out,
Even though [dq]they are now more numerous than (SI)locusts
And are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the hand of the (SJ)people of the north.”
25 Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of (SK)Thebes, and (SL)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her (SM)gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who (SN)trust in him. 26 I shall give them into the hand of those who are (SO)seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. (SP)Afterwards, however, it will be dwelt in like in the days of old,” declares Yahweh.
27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, (SQ)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For behold, I am going to (SR)save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and have (SS)quiet
And be at ease, with no one making him tremble.
28 O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares Yahweh,
“For (ST)I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have banished you,
Yet I will (SU)not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will (SV)discipline you with justice
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
Word Against Philistia
47 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the (SW)Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down (SX)Gaza. 2 Thus says Yahweh:
“Behold, waters are going to rise from (SY)the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And (SZ)overflow the land as well as its fullness,
The city and those who inhabit it;
And the men will (TA)cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3 Because of the noise of the [dr](TB)galloping hoofs of his [ds]valiant steeds,
The quaking of his chariots, and the tumult of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the limpness of their hands,
4 On account of the day that is coming
To (TC)destroy all the Philistines,
To cut off from (TD)Tyre and Sidon
Every ally that is left;
For Yahweh is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of (TE)Caphtor.
5 (TF)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
(TG)Ashkelon has been ruined.
O remnant of their valley,
How long will you (TH)gash yourself?
6 Ah, (TI)sword of Yahweh,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
[dt]Be at rest and stay still.
7 How can [du]it be quiet?
Yahweh has (TJ)given it a command;
Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast—
There He has (TK)assigned it.”
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