Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow.

He then blinded Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in fetters of bronze to bring him to Babylon.

"I will also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its disasters.

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.

"A sword against the Chaldeans," declares the LORD, "And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her officials and her wise men!

"They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them."

For thus says the LORD: "Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab.

"Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

Go up to Gilead and obtain balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain have you multiplied remedies; There is no healing for you.

"But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him tremble.

"Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.

"Cut off the sower from Babylon And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest; From before the sword of the oppressor They will each turn back to his own people And they will each flee to his own land.

'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,' declares the LORD.

"Nevertheless hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, 'Behold, I have sworn by My great name,' says the LORD, 'never shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord GOD lives."

Thus says the LORD of hosts, "The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them fast, They have refused to let them go.

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,

Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I dread the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will abuse me."

'In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,' says the LORD.

'Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.

Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, "A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing."

"Moreover you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink."

He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the king's advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.

"A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her mighty men, and they will be shattered!

"May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon," The inhabitant of Zion will say; And, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say.

"Leave the cities and dwell among the crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

"Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side, All you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows, For she has sinned against the LORD.

"Ah, sword of the LORD, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Be at rest and stay still.

that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying,

"Therefore I will wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

"And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

Thus says the LORD: "Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and all its fullness, The city and those who live in it; And the men will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

"But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go."

'While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:

'I will also give over all the wealth of this city, all its produce and all its costly things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away and bring them to Babylon.

Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

'You have said to me, O Lord GOD, "Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses"--although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'"

"Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy;

Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am going to plead your case And exact full vengeance for you; And I will dry up her sea And make her fountain dry.

"Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan, For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him At the time I punish him.

who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day.

and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam and all the kings of Media;

"But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine."

"Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from before My face,

"Your wealth and your treasures I will give for booty without cost, Even for all your sins And within all your borders.

then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.'"

I have heard a message from the LORD, And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying, "Gather yourselves together and come against her, And rise up for battle!"

thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, "We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her " Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!'

"Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath,

Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness."

because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land:

When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain And brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: "Surely I will fill you with a population like locusts, And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you."

For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the LORD of hosts, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.

"Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss at all its wounds.

"Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor," declares the LORD; "For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you And devised a scheme against you.

'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time."

"Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over."

The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD--the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.

"Behold, a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

"Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one," Declares the Lord GOD of hosts, "For your day has come, The time when I will punish you.

'You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, "Alas, lord!"' For I have spoken the word," declares the LORD.

Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, "The LORD your God promised this calamity against this place;

So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks.

"Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands," declares the LORD.

Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.'" Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

"At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me.

So the land quakes and writhes, For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without inhabitants.

"How can it be quiet, When the LORD has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast-- There He has assigned it."

"Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming release to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name.

The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and until He has accomplished The intent of His heart; In the latter days you will understand this.

because they have not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD.

Edom, Moab and the sons of Ammon;

"You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

"Harness the horses, And mount the steeds, And take your stand with helmets on! Polish the spears, Put on the scale-armor!

"I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her And may devastate her land; For on every side they will be opposed to her In the day of her calamity.

Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king.

For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "As My 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 curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and you will see this place no more."

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon.

therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always."'"

But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,

So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

"For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,

'Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans.

Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

"But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come and let us go to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.' So we have dwelt in Jerusalem."

Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you;

'You shall be My people, And I will be your God.'"

And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him And I have also given him the beasts of the field."'"

When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD and sat in the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD'S house.

and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the LORD'S house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place.

"Command them to go to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters,

After many days the LORD said to me, "Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there."

'You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.'

Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud,

On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

"Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews;

"Chaldea will become plunder; All who plunder her will have enough," declares the LORD.

But let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon;

For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it."

"Therefore thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.'"

for I have not sent them," declares the LORD, "but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you."

He burned the house of the LORD, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire.

and say, 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted '" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

"Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."

"Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity.

'They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them.

When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and fled and went to Egypt.

But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

"But I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places So that he will not be able to conceal himself; His offspring has been destroyed along with his relatives And his neighbors, and he is no more.

"Line up the shield and buckler, And draw near for the battle!

"Raise your battle cry against her on every side! She has given herself up, her pillars have fallen, Her walls have been torn down For this is the vengeance of the LORD: Take vengeance on her; As she has done to others, so do to her.

For thus says the LORD, "Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it.

Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern.

'They will also bring out all your wives and your sons to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.'"

"Flee, save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!"

Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, 'Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon'; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

"The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities And it will devour all his environs."

"Because of the indignation of the LORD she will not be inhabited, But she will be completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds.

Come to her from the farthest border; Open up her barns, Pile her up like heaps And utterly destroy her, Let nothing be left to her.

"For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish.

against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,

"Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD saying, 'This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate, without inhabitant'?" And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

"They have repeatedly stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen one against another Then they said, 'Get up! And let us go back To our own people and our native land Away from the sword of the oppressor.'

Who is this that rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge about?

"Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this great city?'

Now a capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates.

"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying,

"For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction.

"The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.

"Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon'--

And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, And with you I shatter governors and prefects.

"So all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them."'"

'But it will come about in the last days That I will restore the fortunes of Elam,'" Declares the LORD.

Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying,

'Then behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say, "Your close friends Have misled and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back."

'There is no one to plead your cause; No healing for your sore, No recovery for you.

The captain of the guard also took away the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver.

"Thus you are to say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land."

One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.

and all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who dwell in the desert;

There is a sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, Vengeance for His temple.

'Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.

'So there will be no refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return and live; for none will return except a few refugees.'"

"The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, 'Devastation and great destruction!'

Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'"

"So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you;

So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority 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.

"They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions' cubs.

"They will take away their tents and their flocks; They will carry off for themselves Their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels, And they will call out to one another, 'Terror on every side!'

that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people.

for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile--

"Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, And panic has gripped her; Distress and pangs have taken hold of her Like a woman in childbirth.

provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

"Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people."

'Now then thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant,

"They seize their bow and javelin; They are cruel and have no mercy Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, Marshalled like a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

"Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For even they too have turned back and have fled away together; They did not stand their ground For the day of their calamity has come upon them, The time of their punishment.

'Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword and by famine until they are completely gone.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?"

For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

"And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, 'Thus says the LORD, "You have burned this scroll, saying, 'Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?'"

"For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword,

in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem;

"Her cities have become an object of horror, A parched land and a desert, A land in which no man lives And through which no son of man passes.

At the shout, "Babylon has been seized!" the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us.

'Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.'"'

"Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.

"Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

"I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, And it will devour the fortified towers of Ben-hadad."

The LORD has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, "Do not go into Egypt!" You should clearly understand that today I have testified against you.

Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.

"Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab," declares the LORD.

"We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

"Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

saying, "No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there";

"I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them--but they did not listen."'"

Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD.

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

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

"We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters,

"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city."

The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea.

"Behold, I am going to bring terror upon you," Declares the Lord GOD of hosts, "From all directions around you; And each of you will be driven out headlong, With no one to gather the fugitives together.

"Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name; Say, 'How has the mighty scepter been broken, A staff of splendor!'

"So the LORD was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.

So they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon.

'Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has gone away from you.

The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And of the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.

"Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah.

'Their children also will be as formerly, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all their oppressors.

"Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the LORD has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon?

"For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me," declares the LORD.'"

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

'You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror;

Now at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem

"Their camels will become plunder, And their many cattle for booty, And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair; And I will bring their disaster from every side," declares the LORD.

Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their prefects, And every land of their dominion.

"Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are drawing back, And their mighty men are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing back; Terror is on every side!" Declares the LORD.

Then Baruch said to them, "He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book."

"Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

"Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword.

"For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, 'The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.'"'"

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam, The finest of their might.

Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them.

"Stand by the road and keep watch, O inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, 'What has happened?'

"But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now entreat the LORD of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

"But afterward I will restore The fortunes of the sons of Ammon," Declares the LORD.

'You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.'"'

"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,

because of their wickedness which they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.

But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

"The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken," declares the LORD.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?" declares the LORD.

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

But Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live.

Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people;

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

Therefore behold, days are coming When I will punish the idols of Babylon; And her whole land will be put to shame And all her slain will fall in her midst.

"I will make an end of Moab," declares the LORD, "the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.

"I shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his officers Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.

"But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there."

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

"On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel," declares the LORD.

"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!

Put all her young bulls to the sword; Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe be upon them, for their day has come, The time of their punishment.

"Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.

"Because you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this calamity has befallen you, as it has this day."

then in that case listen to the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "If you really set your mind to enter Egypt and go in to reside there,

Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet put him in the prison.

"Yet you have not listened to Me," declares the LORD, "in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

"They have cut down her forest," declares the LORD; "Surely it will no more be found, Even though they are now more numerous than locusts And are without number.

Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad.

"But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight.

Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath So Judah was led away into exile from its land.

"The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.

So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse.

"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.

Let not the swift man flee, Nor the mighty man escape; In the north beside the river Euphrates They have stumbled and fallen.

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

the 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--

They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service.

You who have escaped the sword, Depart! Do not stay! Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.

"I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with the LORD."

'Then I will set My throne in Elam And destroy out of it king and princes,' Declares the LORD.

"But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers."'

then the sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.

But Jeremiah said, "A lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen.

'Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a desolation as it is this day.

"He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.

"Thus says the LORD, 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go.

"The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."'

"Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, Which lives securely," declares the LORD "It has no gates or bars; They dwell alone.

"Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'"

"Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God."

"Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you."

"Then heaven and earth and all that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, For the destroyers will come to her from the north," Declares the LORD.

"I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence.

The fords also have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified.

"Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them.

"This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants," declares the LORD, "so as to make this city like Topheth.

And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free.

"They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets."

'So I will shatter Elam before their enemies And before those who seek their lives; And I will bring calamity upon them, Even My fierce anger,' declares the LORD, 'And I will send out the sword after them Until I have consumed them.

Egypt rises like the Nile, Even like the rivers whose waters surge about; And He has said, "I will rise and cover that land; I will surely destroy the city and its inhabitants."

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

"But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land," declares the LORD, "and they will till it and dwell in it."'"

"Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land'?

"Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the LORD.

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.

"Why have your mighty ones become prostrate? They do not stand because the LORD has thrust them down.

'But if you are going to say, "We will not stay in this land," so as not to listen to the voice of the LORD your God,

and said to them, "Thus says the LORD the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him:

"But I will deliver you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.

There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

And with you I shatter man and woman, And with you I shatter old man and youth, And with you I shatter young man and virgin,

"A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed, As the LORD has said.

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.

"They cried there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise; He has let the appointed time pass by!'

So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you?

Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

"The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth.

The nations have heard of your shame, And the earth is full of your cry of distress; For one warrior has stumbled over another, And both of them have fallen down together.

"How can you say, 'We are mighty warriors, And men valiant for battle'?

that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do."

"I know his fury," declares the LORD, "But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.

Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,

Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women--even to all the people who were giving him such an answer--saying,

Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great,

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you I will not keep back a word from you."

"For behold, I have made you small among the nations, Despised among men.

"Thus says the LORD the God of Israel to you, O Baruch:

'Behold, I am going to command,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.'"

Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are."

but in the place where they led him captive, there he will die and not see this land again.

So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

'You said, "Ah, woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest."'

"The noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction.

"As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did not all this come into His mind?

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

"Yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem,

"The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab, The year of their punishment," declares the LORD.

"Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter," Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

"Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

'This will be the sign to you,' declares the LORD, 'that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for harm.'

and gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king's presence regularly all the days of his life.

then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.

"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

"How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back--he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him."

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people.

"Now so that your heart does not grow faint, And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land-- For the report will come one year, And after that another report in another year, And violence will be in the land With ruler against ruler--

and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying,

"And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying,

"The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Given over to the power of the people of the north."

When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another and said to Baruch, "We will surely report all these words to the king."

"Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, And all the men of war will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD of hosts.

"The disaster of Moab will soon come, And his calamity has swiftly hastened.

'But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods.

"Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD.

"How the city of praise has not been deserted, The town of My joy!

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

"But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the LORD has shown me:

nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed.

"Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people!

Therefore you should now clearly understand that you will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, in the place where you wish to go to reside.

'And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with pestilence.

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the conversation had not been overheard.

'I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.

And they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?"

So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the LORD your God, even in whatever He has sent me to tell you.

and the LORD has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you.

They said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it to us." So Baruch read it to them.

"Thus says the LORD, 'This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'"

"But if the 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,'

'But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness--indeed, thus says the LORD--so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt.