Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



"For this is what the LORD says: "When Babylon's seventy years are completed, I'll take note of you and will fulfill my good promises to you by bringing you back to this place.

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, noted in the Scripture the total years that were assigned by the message from the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem: 70 years.

This entire land will be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. "Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.

I'll be found by you,' declares the LORD, "and I'll restore your security and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I've driven you,' declares the LORD. "I'll bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.'

where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."'"

Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. read more.
The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. They executed Zedekiah's sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon. On the seventh day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem


This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the palace of the king of Judah where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. read more.
Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."'" Jeremiah replied, "This message from the LORD came to me: "Look, Hanamel, your cousin, is coming to you and will say, "Buy my field in Anathoth for yourself, because the right of redemption to buy it belongs to you."' "Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard just as the LORD had said, and he told me, "Please buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin because you have the right to possess it, and the right to redeem it belongs to you. Buy it for yourself.' So I knew that this was a message from the LORD. "Then I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the silver for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed and sealed it. I called in witnesses and used scales to weigh out the silver. Then I took the deed of purchase both the sealed one with the terms and conditions and the open one and I gave the deed of purchase to Neriah's son Baruch, the grandson of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans sitting in the courtyard of the guard. In their presence, I instructed Baruch as follows: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Take these deeds both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed and put them in a clay pot so they'll last for a long time. For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'"'" "After I had given the deed of purchase to Neriah's son Baruch, I prayed to the LORD:


The king of Babylon installed Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah as king in his place and then changed his name to Zedekiah.

Josiah's son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim's son Coniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah.

The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah.

Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem.

where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.


"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, "Look, Pharaoh's army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt, and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire."' "This is what the LORD says: "Don't deceive yourselves by saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," "for they won't go. read more.
Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.'"'"

He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.

where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."'"

""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt. I'll make them into a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth; into a cause for contempt, into a byword, into a taunt, and into a curse in all the places to which I drive them. I'll send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they're completely destroyed from the land which I gave them and their ancestors.'"

I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: "Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the LORD has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Don't listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, "You won't serve the king of Babylon.' Indeed, they're prophesying a lie to you. read more.
For I didn't send them," declares the LORD, "and they're falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land." Then I spoke to the priests and all of the people: "This is what the LORD says: "Don't listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: "The vessels from the Temple are about to be returned from Babylon very soon now." Indeed, they're prophesying a lie to you. Don't listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon and you'll live. Why should this city become a ruin? If they're prophets, and if they have a message from the LORD, let them plead with the LORD of the Heavenly Armies so that the utensils that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem might not be taken to Babylon. For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says about the pillars, the bronze sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says about the vessels that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, "They'll go into Babylon and there they'll remain until the time I take note of them," declares the LORD. "Then I'll bring them up and return them to this place."'"

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: "Is there a message from the LORD?"

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to him at the third entrance to the LORD's Temple. The king told Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something, and don't hide anything from me." Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "When I tell you, you will surely put me to death, won't you? And when I give you advice, you don't listen to me." Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life to live, I won't have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you." read more.
So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "If you will immediately surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city won't be burned with fire. Both you and your family will live. But if you don't surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they'll burn it with fire. You won't escape from their hands.'" Then King Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of the Judeans who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may turn me over to them, and they may treat me harshly." Jeremiah said, "They won't turn you over. Obey the LORD in what I'm telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has shown me: Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, "These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.' "They'll bring all your women and children out to the Chaldeans, and you won't escape from their hand. Indeed, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire." Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these words and you won't die. If the officials hear that I've spoken with you, and they come to you and say, "Tell us what you told the king, and what the king told you; don't hide it from us, and we won't put you to death,' then you are to say to them, "I was presenting my request to the king that I not be taken back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he replied to them exactly as the king had ordered him. So they stopped speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard. Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.


The officials were angry with Jeremiah and beat him. They put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made it into a prison. So Jeremiah came into the cells in the dungeon and remained there for a long time. Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: "Is there a message from the LORD?" read more.
Jeremiah said, "There is," and then he said, "You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon." Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, "What offense have I committed against you, your officials, or these people that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, telling you: "The king of Babylon won't come against you or against this land'? Now, please listen, your majesty, and pay attention to what I'm asking you. Don't make me go back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so I don't die there." So King Zedekiah gave the order, and they assigned Jeremiah to the courtyard of the guard. Each day they gave him a loaf of bread from the bakers' street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the palace of the king of Judah where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

King Zedekiah said, "Look, he's in your hands, and the king can do nothing to you." So they threw Jeremiah into a cistern that belonged to the king's son Malchijah and was located in the courtyard of the guard. When they let Jeremiah down with ropes, because there was no water in the cistern only mud Jeremiah sank into the mud. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king's house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, read more.
so Ebed-melech went out of the palace and spoke to the king: "Your majesty, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern. He will die where he is because of the famine since there is no more bread in the city." Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: "Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies." So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the palace, underneath the storeroom. He took worn out rags and worn out clothes from there, and using ropes he lowered them down to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian told Jeremiah, "Put the worn out rags and clothes under your armpits under the ropes," and Jeremiah did as he said. They pulled Jeremiah with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, but Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to him at the third entrance to the LORD's Temple. The king told Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something, and don't hide anything from me." Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "When I tell you, you will surely put me to death, won't you? And when I give you advice, you don't listen to me." Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life to live, I won't have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you." So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "If you will immediately surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city won't be burned with fire. Both you and your family will live. But if you don't surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they'll burn it with fire. You won't escape from their hands.'" Then King Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of the Judeans who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may turn me over to them, and they may treat me harshly." Jeremiah said, "They won't turn you over. Obey the LORD in what I'm telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has shown me: Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, "These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.' "They'll bring all your women and children out to the Chaldeans, and you won't escape from their hand. Indeed, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire." Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these words and you won't die. If the officials hear that I've spoken with you, and they come to you and say, "Tell us what you told the king, and what the king told you; don't hide it from us, and we won't put you to death,' then you are to say to them, "I was presenting my request to the king that I not be taken back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he replied to them exactly as the king had ordered him. So they stopped speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard. Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.