not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them," says the LORD.

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; the LORD of hosts is his name:

The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever."

and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;

and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there until I visit him," says the LORD: "though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?"'"

and they came in, and possessed it, but they did not obey your voice, neither walked in your law; they have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do: therefore you have caused all this evil to come on them.

They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through fire to Molech; which I did not command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.'

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.

'Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great and hidden things, which you do not know.'

"Thus says the LORD: 'If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season;

then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

"Do not consider what this people has spoken, saying, 'The two families which the LORD chose, he has cast them off?' Thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

Thus says the LORD: 'If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.'"

and you shall not escape out of his hand, but shall surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon.'

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus says the LORD concerning you, 'You shall not die by the sword;

"At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you": but your fathers did not listen to me, neither inclined their ear.

Therefore thus says the LORD: "You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim to you a liberty, says the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.

I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts;

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?" says the LORD.

"The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father's commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.

I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Return now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers': but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.

Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;

therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.'"'"

therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.'"

They were not afraid, nor tore their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words.

Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not hear them.

Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: "He shall have none to sit on the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they did not listen."'"

Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.

Thus says the LORD, "Do not deceive yourselves, saying, 'The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us'; for they shall not depart.

Then Jeremiah said, "It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans." But he did not listen to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the officials.

Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."

Zedekiah the king said, "Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you."

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me."

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 'If you will go forth to the king of Babylon's officers, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.

But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's officers, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.'"

But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of the LORD, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

They shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans; and you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and you shall cause this city to be burned with fire."

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die.

But if the officials hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, 'Declare to us now what you have said to the king; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you':

then you shall tell them, 'I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.'"

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

It happened that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.

"Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring my words on this city for disaster, and not for prosperity; and they shall be fulfilled before you in that day.

But I will deliver you in that day, says the LORD; and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.

For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but your life will be given to you as a reward; because you have put your trust in me,"' says the LORD."

and the LORD has brought it, and done according as he spoke: because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing has come on you.

Now, behold, I release you this day from the chains which are on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will take care of you; but if it seems bad to you to come with me into Babylon, do not: behold, all the land is before you; where it seems good and right to you to go, there go."

Now while he had not yet gone back, "Go back then," he said, "to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wherever it seems right to you to go." So the captain of the guard gave him food and a present, and let him go.

Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, and women, and children, and of the poorest of the land, of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon;

Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

and said to him, "Do you know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael."

But ten men were found among those who said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he stopped, and did not kill them among their brothers.

Then they said to Jeremiah, "The LORD be a true and faithful witness among us, if we do not do according to all the word with which the LORD your God shall send you to us.

'If you will still live in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I grieve over the distress that I have brought on you.

Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him, says the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

But if you say, 'We will not dwell in this land'; so that you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God,

The LORD has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah, 'Do not go into Egypt': know certainly that I have testified to you this day.

and I have this day declared it to you; but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything for which he has sent me to you.

then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely. The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You shall not go into Egypt to live there';

So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.

and they came into the land of Egypt; for they did not obey the voice of the LORD: and they came to Tahpanhes.

because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods, that they did not know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.'

But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.'

"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

"The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land. Did not the LORD remember them, and did not it come into his mind,

Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day."

Behold, I watch over them for disaster, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.

Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for, behold, I will bring disaster on all flesh, says the LORD; but your life will I give to you for a reward in all places where you go."'"

Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and are turned backward; and their mighty ones are beaten down, and have fled in haste, and do not look back: terror is on every side," says the LORD.

"Do not let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.

Why are your strong ones swept away? They did not stand, because the LORD pushed them.

Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand: for the day of their calamity has come on them, the time of their visitation.

'But do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Do not be afraid, O Jacob my servant,' says the LORD; 'for I am with you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.'"

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers do not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

'Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.

If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, wouldn't they destroy until they had enough?

But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.

For thus says the LORD: 'Behold, they to whom it did not pertain to drink of the cup shall certainly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.

How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?

On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

"Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and do not conceal: say, 'Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.

They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, "Come, and join yourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten."

All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, "We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of righteousness, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers."

Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

In those days, and in that time, says the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant."'"

Do not let him who bends the bow bend it; nor not let him rise up in his armor. And do not spare her young men; utterly destroy all her army.

"For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; do not be cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render to her a recompense.

'We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.'

The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.

They shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever," says the LORD.