And I have given thee into the hand of those seeking thy life, And into hands of which thou art afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.

Then I myself will regather those of my people who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. They will greatly increase in number.

Among the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a horrible thing, for they commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil, so that no one repents of his evil. All of them are like Sodom to me, and her residents like Gomorrah."

The Lord who rules over all says to the people of Jerusalem: "Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say.

Saying diligently to those despising The word of Jehovah: Peace is for you, And to every one walking in the stubbornness of his heart they have said: Evil doth not come in unto you.

But just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.

The Lord says, "I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, 'I have had a dream! I have had a dream!'

Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds.

So I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me.

I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, 'The Lord declares.'

Hear this, I am against those who have prophesied false and made-up dreams,” says the Lord, “and have told them and have made My people err and go astray by their lies and by their reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them nor do they benefit and enhance [the life of] these people in the slightest way,” says the Lord.

One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten.

"I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: 'The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon are like those good figs. I consider them to be good.

‘And as for the bad figs, which are so rotten that they cannot be eaten,’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and those who live in the land of Egypt.

This word Jeremiah gave out to all the people of Judah and to those living in Jerusalem, saying,

and Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all those who are trimmed to [the] side;

Look, I'm beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and do you actually think you will avoid punishment? You won't avoid punishment because I'm summoning the sword against all those who live in the land," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.'"

“Therefore prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

‘The Lord will roar from on high
And utter His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar mightily against His fold and pasture.
He will jubilantly shout like those who tread the grapes [in the wine press],
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

A noise shall come to the ends of the earth; for Jehovah has a controversy with the nations; He will enter into judgment with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword, says Jehovah.

“And those slain by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. They will not be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief) or gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the ground.

Thus said Jehovah, Stand thou in the court of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast spoken unto all those of the cities of Judah who are coming in to bow themselves in the house of Jehovah, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them, thou dost not diminish a word.

But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!"

And there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land in words similar to all those of Jeremiah.

And you are not to give attention to your prophets or your readers of signs or your dreamers or those who see into the future or those who make use of secret arts, who say to you, You will not become servants of the king of Babylon:

But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

Therefore give no ear unto those Prophets that tell you, 'Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon.' 'For they preach you lies,

I spake to the Priests also, and to all the people, "Thus sayeth the LORD: Hear not the words of those Prophets, that preach unto you, and say, 'Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house shall shortly be brought hither again from Babylon.' For they prophesy lies unto you.

those Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen! LORD do so. LORD perform thy words which thou have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of LORD's house, and all those of the captivity, from Babylon to this place.

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the responsible men among those who had been taken away, and to the priests and the prophets and to all the rest of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon;

This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all those whom I have taken away prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon:

"For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.

“Because you [who have remained in Jerusalem] have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’

I will chase after them with war, starvation, and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to them. I will make them examples of those who are cursed, objects of horror, hissing scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where I exile them.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in My Name, ‘Behold, I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slaughter them before your eyes [yes, all the false prophets in Babylon whom you follow shall die]!

“Send [this message] to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,”

{Therefore} all [those who] devour you will be devoured, and all your foes, all of them will go into captivity, and [those who] plunder you will be as plunder, and all [those who] plunder you I will make as plunder.

‘From them (city, palace) will come [songs of] thanksgiving
And the voices of those who dance and celebrate.
And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished [in number];
I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

Their children shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall continue in my sight. And all those that vex them, will I visit.

Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O Virgin Israel!
You will again be adorned with your tambourines and timbrels
And go out to the dances of those who celebrate.

Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. Those who plant them will once again enjoy their fruit.

For there will be a day when those who get in the grapes on the hills of Ephraim will be crying, Up! let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God.

Moreover, the Lord says, "Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob. Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard. Then say, 'Lord, rescue your people. Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.'

Look, I [am] going to bring them from [the] land of [the] north, and I will gather them from [the] remotest part of [the] earth. Among them [the] blind, and [the] lame, [those who are] pregnant, and [those who] give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here.

For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob. He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them.

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

for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”

In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

And I give the purchase-book unto Baruch son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my uncle's son, and before the eyes of the witnesses, those writing in the purchase-book, before the eyes of all the Jews who are sitting in the court of the prison.

Thou hast done great tokens and wonders in the land of Egypt, as we see this day upon the people of Israel and upon those men: to make thy name great as it is come to pass this day.

because of all the evil that the Israelis and Judeans have done to provoke me. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and those living in Jerusalem have done these things.

"The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill those houses with the dead bodies of the people that I've struck down in my anger and wrath, for I've hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness.

Is a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, The voice of those saying, Thank Jehovah of Hosts, for Jehovah is good, For His kindness is to the age, Who are bringing in thanksgiving to the house of Jehovah, For I turn back the captivity of the land, As at the first, said Jehovah.

In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

"Considerest thou not what this people speaketh? 'Two kindreds,' say they, 'had the LORD chosen, and those same two hath he cast away.' For so far is my people come, that they have no hope to come together any more, and to be one people again.

Also the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, will I reject from taking from his seed those ruling over the seed of Abraham, Isaak, and Jacob for I will turn back their captivity, and I compassionated them.

The men who have violated My covenant, who have not kept the terms of the solemn pledge which they made before Me when they split the [sacrificial] calf in half, and then afterwards walked between its separated pieces [sealing their pledge to Me by placing a curse on themselves should they violate the covenant—those men I will make like the calf]!

heads of Judah, and heads of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land those passing through between the pieces of the calf --

yea, I have given them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and their carcase hath been for food to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth.

'And Zedekiah king of Judah, and his heads, I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and into the hand of the forces of the king of Babylon, that are going up from off you.

You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.’

So you must go and you shall read aloud from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of Yahweh in the hearing of the people [in] the temple of Yahweh on a day of fast, and also you shall read aloud in the hearing of all those of Judah who came from their towns.

In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.

"The Lord says, 'Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives.'"

"Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city.

So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you."

And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.

But Nebuzaradan the chief captain let the rascal people, and those that had nothing, dwell still in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and corn fields at the same time.

But I will rescue you when it happens. I, the Lord, affirm it! You will not be handed over to those whom you fear.

And all the heads of the forces that are in the field hear, they and their men, that the king of Babylon hath appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he hath charged him with men, and women, and infants, and of the poor of the land, of those who have not been removed to Babylon;

Those who came to Gedaliah at Mizpah included Nethaniah's son Ishmael, Jonathan, Kareah's son Jonathan, Tanhumeth's son Seraiah, Ephai's sons from Netophah; and Jezaniah, the son of a man from Maacah. They came along with their men.

All the Judeans who were in Moab, those with the people in Ammon, those in Edom, and those in all the other countries also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah and that he had appointed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, over them.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, with those ten men that were sworn to him, start up, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword; and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor of the land.

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

Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one which King Asa [of Judah] had made [about three hundred years earlier] on account of King Baasha of Israel [believing that Baasha would lay siege to Mizpah]. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [the bodies of] those who were killed.

Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah including the daughters of the king—all those who remained in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.

All those people that Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.

They said to him, "Please grant our request and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before.

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. You will never see this place again.'

Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies took the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned from all the nations where they had been banished to live in the land of Judah for a while—

Men, women, children, the king's daughters; all those that Nebuzaradan the chief captain had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; They carried away also the prophet Jeremiah, Baruch the son of Neriah,

and he hath come, and smitten the land of Egypt -- those who are for death to death, and those who are for captivity to captivity, and those who are for the sword to the sword.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt.

And I will take away the remnant of Judah, those who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to live there for a while; they will meet their end. All of them in the land of Egypt will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an object of cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace.

'And I have seen after those dwelling in the land of Egypt, as I saw after Jerusalem, with sword, with famine, and with pestilence,

and there is not an escaped and remaining one of the remnant of Judah, who are entering into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, even to turn back to the land of Judah, whither they are lifting up their soul to return to dwell, for they do not turn back, except those escaping.'

Was it not, the very incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers your kings and your princes and the people of the land, was it not those very things, that Yahweh did remember, and that came up on his heart;

Further, Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, Give ear to the word of the Lord, all those of Judah who are living in Egypt:

{Therefore} hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah, those who live in the land of Egypt: 'Look, I hereby swear by my great name,' says Yahweh, 'surely my name will no longer be called in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, "{as the Lord Yahweh lives}," in all the land of Egypt.

Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to live there for a while, will know whose word stands, Mine or theirs!

Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am giving Pharaoh-Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those seeking his life, as I have given Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and who is seeking his life.'

Egypt as a river will come up, and as rivers the waters will be moved; and he will say, I will go up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and those dwelling in it

Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow.

"Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol, and proclaim in Memphis and in Tahpanhes, say, 'Take your stand and be prepared, for [the] sword will devour [those] all around you.'