Because I have heard the whispering of many - "A terror round about!" Tell ye say they , that we may tell of him, All the men I am wont to salute do watch for my halting, - Peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail over him, and take our vengeance upon him.

‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city.

"You are to say to this people, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to set before you the way of life and the way of death.

About the family of the king of Judah. Give ear to the word of the Lord;

“But I will punish you in accordance with the [appropriate] consequences of your decisions and your actions,” says the Lord.
“I will kindle a fire in your forest,
And it will devour all that is around you.”’”

For this is what the Lord has said about the family of the king of Judah: You are Gilead to me, and the top of Lebanon: but, truly, I will make you waste, with towns unpeopled.

"'For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, "He will never return to this land.

Does it make you any more of a king that you outstrip everyone else in building with cedar? Just think about your father. He was content that he had food and drink. He did what was just and right. So things went well with him.

So the Lord has this to say about Josiah's son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying, "This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!" They will not mourn for him, saying, "Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!"

This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away. He will be like a clay vessel that no one wants. Why will he and his children be forced into exile? Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?

So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: "You have caused my people to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. I, the Lord, affirm it!

About the prophets. My heart is broken in me, all my bones are shaking; I am like a man full of strong drink, like a man overcome by wine; because of the Lord, and because of his holy words.

So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.

For who hath sitten in the council of the LORD, that he hath heard and understood what he is about to do? Who hath marked his device, and heard it?

Look, a storm from the Lord!
Wrath has gone out,
a whirling storm.
It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.

The word which came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah; this was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.

behold (hear this), I will send for all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant [to enact My plan], and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing [that is, an object of warning and ridicule] and an everlasting desolation.

And it will come about, after seventy years are ended, that I will send punishment on the king of Babylon, and on that nation, says the Lord, for their evil-doing, and on the land of the Chaldaeans; and I will make it a waste for ever.

I'll bring on that land all the things I spoke against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied about the nations.

"Then, Jeremiah, make the following prophecy against them: 'Like a lion about to attack, the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven; from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly. He will roar mightily against his land. He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes against all those who live on the earth.

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out. And roll about in mourning [in the dust], O leaders of the flock. For your days of slaughter and your dispersions have arrived, and you will fall like a vessel of desire.

Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders. Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks. They are wailing because the Lord is about to destroy their lands.

Perhaps they'll listen, and each of them will repent from his evil way. Then I'll change my mind about the disaster I'm planning to bring on them because of their evil deeds.

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.

However, some of the officials of Judah heard about what was happening and they rushed up to the Lord's temple from the royal palace. They set up court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's temple.

Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and the Lord changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves.”

There was also a man named Uriah, Shemaiah's son from Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied in the LORD's name. He prophesied about this city and this land in words similar to those of Jeremiah.

When the king and all his bodyguards and officials heard what he was prophesying, the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear.

"Make thee bonds and chains, and put them about thy neck,

And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.

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?

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.

For the Lord who rules over all has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, the large bronze basin called 'The Sea,' and the movable bronze stands. He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city.

He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim's son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives.

Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all has already spoken about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord's temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

And it came about in that year, when Zedekiah first became king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah, the son of Azzur the prophet, who came from Gibeon, said to Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, before the priests and all the people,

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

The prophets, who were before me and before you, from early times gave word to a number of countries and great kingdoms about war and destruction and disease.

When a prophet prophesies peace, and what the prophet speaks comes about, he will be known as the prophet whom the LORD has truly sent."

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 am conscious of my thoughts about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope at the end.

But just listen to what the Lord has to say about the king who occupies David's throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem and were not carried off into exile with you.

This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to send the sword, famine, and plague on them, and I'll make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten because they're so bad.

"The Lord God of Israel who rules over all also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. 'I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.

About Shemaiah the Nehelamite.

"Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, 'The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. "Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie.

therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”

"The Lord God of Israel says, 'Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll.

So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah.

Ask about this and think about it Can a man give birth to a child? Why then do I see every strong man with his hands on his thighs like a woman giving birth, and all their faces have turned pale?

‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

But I will bring you health
and will heal you of your wounds—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for they call you Outcast,
Zion whom no one cares about.

Look, a storm from the Lord!
Wrath has gone out,
a churning storm.
It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.

Then I will reply, 'I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here.

"Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I've spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I'll surely have great compassion on him," declares the LORD.

How long will you vacillate, you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? For I, the Lord, promise to bring about something new on the earth, something as unique as a woman protecting a man!'"

And [the people of] Judah and all its cities will live there together—the farmer and they who wander about with flocks.

And it will come about that, as I have been watching over them for the purpose of uprooting and smashing down and overturning and sending destruction and causing trouble; so I will be watching over them for the purpose of building up and planting, says the Lord.

And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah.

because Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it;

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 and your people are right in saying, 'War, starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.' But now I, the Lord God of Israel, have something further to say about this city:

I'm about to gather my people from all the lands where I've driven them in my anger, wrath, and great indignation. I'll bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

For the Lord has said: As I have made all this great evil come on this people, so I will send on them all the good which I said about them.

Fields will be bought in this land about which you will say, "It is a desolate place without people or animals. It is given into the hands of the Chaldeans."

Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith Jehovah.

"I, the Lord, do these things. I, the Lord, form the plan to bring them about. I am known as the Lord. I say to you,

Call on me in prayer and I will answer you. I will show you great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.'

For I, the Lord God of Israel, have something more to say about the houses in this city and the royal buildings which have been torn down for defenses against the siege ramps and military incursions of the Babylonians:

All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.'

"I, the Lord, say: 'You and your people are saying about this place, "It lies in ruins. There are no people or animals in it." That is true. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem will soon be desolate, uninhabited either by people or by animals. But happy sounds will again be heard in these places.

In the cities of the hill-country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of him that numbereth them, saith Jehovah.

See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will give effect to the good word which I have said about the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

But give ear to the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah; this is what the Lord has said about you: Death will not come to you by the sword:

I am about to give the command”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”

Do not build houses. Do not plant crops. Do not plant a vineyard or own one. Live in tents all your lives. If you do these things you will live a long time in the land that you wander about on.'

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all told him, "Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, 'I, the Lord, say: "You must learn a lesson from this about obeying what I say!

"But what Rechab's son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven't drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I've spoken to you again and again, and you haven't obeyed me.

Now it came about in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

"Get a scroll. Write on it everything I have told you to say about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now.

Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done."

Now it came about in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that it was given out publicly that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem, were to keep from food before the Lord.

When they had heard it all, they expressed their alarm to one another. Then they said to Baruch, "We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!"

So the king sent Jehudi to fetch him the book, which he brought out of Elishama the Scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it, that the king and all the princes, which were about him might hear.

And it came about that whenever Jehudi, in his reading, had got through three or four divisions, the king, cutting them with his penknife, put them into the fire, till all the book was burned up in the fire which was burning in the fireplace.

And about Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, This is what the Lord has said: You have put this book into the fire, saying, Why have you put in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come, causing the destruction of this land and putting an end to every man and beast in it?

I'll punish him, his descendants, and his officials for their iniquity. I'll bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the calamity about which I've warned them, but they would not listen."'"

(Now Jeremiah was going about among the people, for they had not put him in prison.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, Thus, shall ye say unto the king of Judah, who sent you unto me to enquire of me, - Lo! the force of Pharaoh which is coming out to you to help is about to return to its own land to Egypt;

And it came about that when the Chaldaean army outside Jerusalem had gone away for fear of Pharaoh's army,

But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”

Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. If you do, you will die.

And it came about, that when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, with all his army, came against Jerusalem, shutting it in on every side;

Now Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, gave orders about Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, saying,

Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, my words will come true for this town, for evil and not for good: they will come about before your eyes on that day.

Now he has brought it about. The Lord has done just as he threatened to do. This disaster has happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.