and the word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

Deaths of diseases shall they die; they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth, and by sword and by famine shall they be consumed, and their carcass was for food to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth.

You did more evil than your fathers. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying Me.

For mine eyes are upon all their ways, and they were not hid from my face, and their iniquity was not concealed from before mine eyes.

The sin of Judah was written with a style of iron, with the nail of diamond: being graved upon the table of their heart, and to the horns of your altars.

And he was as ruins in the sterile region, and he shall not see when good shall come; he inherited the arid places in the desert, a salt land, and it shall not be inhabited.

Blessed the man who shall trust in Jehovah, and his trust was Jehovah.

And he was as a tree planted by the waters, and it shall spread out its roots by the river, and it shall not see when heat shall come, and its leaf was green; and it shall not be afraid in the year of restraint, and it shall not withdraw from making fruit.

The person who gathers wealth by unjust means is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them. Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains. At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool."

But as for me, I have not tried to escape from being a shepherd [walking] after You,
Nor have I longed for the woeful day [of judgment];
You know that, whatever I said
Was [spoken] in Your presence and was from You.

And it was, if hearing, ye shall hear to me, says Jehovah, not to bring a burden into the gates of this city in day of the Sabbath, and to consecrate the day of the Sabbath, not to do in it any work;

And there came into the gates of this city kings and chiefs sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and upon horses, they and their chiefs, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city was inhabited forever.

The word which was to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

Then I went down to the potter’s house, and saw that he was working at the wheel.

Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.

If, in that very minute, that nation of which I was talking is turned away from its evil, my purpose of doing evil to them will be changed.

Then said they, "Come, let us imagine something against this Jeremiah." Yea, this did even the priests, to whom the law was committed: the Senators, that were the wisest: and the prophets, which wanted not the word of God. "Come," said they, "let us cut out his tongue, and let us not regard his words."

Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, - Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.

And they have put up the high places of the Baal, burning their sons in the fire; a thing which was not ordered by me, and it was never in my mind:

Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord's temple.

Then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah.

[Jeremiah said,] O Lord, You have persuaded me and I was deceived;
You are stronger than I and You have prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all day long;
Everyone mocks me.

For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.

Wherefore, I thought from henceforth not to speak of him, nor to preach anymore in his name. But the word of the LORD was a very burning fire in my heart and in my bones, which when I would have stopped, I might not.

Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me.

Cursed the man who announced to my father, Good news; saying, A son, a male was born to thee; with rejoicing, making him rejoice.

Because I was not slain from the womb, - Nor did my mother become my grave, Nor was her womb great for ever!

Wherefore was it - That from the womb, I came forth, to see labour and pain; and That in shame should my days be consumed!

The word which was to Jeremiah from Jehovah in king Zedekiah's sending to him Pashur son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah son Maaseiah the priest, saying,

He dwelling in this city shall die. by the sword, and by the famine, and by death: and he going forth and falling to the Chaldeans pressing upon you, shall live, and his soul was to him for booty.

For I set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, says Jehovah: into the hand of the king of Babel shall it be given, and it was burnt with fire.

For Thus, saith Yahweh Concerning the house of the king of Judah, - Though thou wast Gilead, to me, The summit of Lebanon, Yet surely I will make thee, A wilderness, Cities, not habitable;

"'Do not weep for the king who was killed. Do not grieve for him. But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile. For he will never return to see his native land again.

"'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.

“He defended the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then all was well.
Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Says the Lord.

Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the [second] son of Josiah, king of Judah,

“The relatives will not lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) for him:
‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister,’ [how great our loss]!
The subjects will not lament for him:
‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, majesty [how great was his glory]!’

I gave thee warning, while thou wast yet in prosperity. But thou saidst, 'I will not hear.' And this manner hast thou used from thy youth, that thou wouldest never hear my voice.

By my life, says the Lord, even if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, was the ring on my right hand, even from there I would have you pulled off;

For the prophets my heart was broken in the midst of me, and all my bones were relaxed; I was as a man intoxicated, and as a man wine passing over him, from the face of Jehovah, and from the face of the words of his holiness.

For the land was filled from adulteries, for from the face of these the land mourned, the beautiful things of the desert were dried up, and their race will be evil, and their strength not right

The Lord says, "I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting. They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray.

I am against those who prophesy false dreams”—the Lord’s declaration—“telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

the one basket, was of very good figs, like the first-ripe figs; and, the other basket, was of very bad figs, which could not be eaten for badness.

In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.)

"For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again what he said. But you would not listen.

All this land was for a waste, for a desolation, and these nations served the king of Babel seventy years.

And it was when seventy years were filled up, I will review over the king of Babel and upon this nation, says Jehovah, their iniquity, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, and I set it for eternal desolations

And it was if they shall refuse to take the cup from my hand to drink, and say to them, Thus said Jehovah of armies: Drink ye; ye shall drink.

For behold me beginning to do evil upon the city which my name was called upon it; and shall ye being acquitted be unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished, for I call a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says Jehovah of armies.

He forsook his booth as the young lion: for their land was for a desolation from the face of the burning of him oppressing, and from the face of the burning of his anger.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, was this word from Jehovah, saying,

then I will make this house [the temple] like Shiloh, and I will make this city [subject to] the curse of all nations of the earth [because it will be so vile in their sight].”’”

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.

"Micah from Moresheth prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'The Lord who rules over all says, "Zion will become a plowed field. Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble. The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge."'

[Did] Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah actually put him to death? [Was he] not in fear of Yahweh? And he entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster that he had spoken against them. But we [are] about to do great disaster to ourselves."

Now there was another man who prophesied as the Lord's representative against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim.

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.

But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to put him to death.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah was this word to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

I, made The earth - The man and the beast that are on the face of the earth - By my great power, And by mine outstretched arm, - And gave it to whomsoever was right in mine own eyes.

And it was the nation and kingdom which shall not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and which shall not give his neck in the yoke of the king of Babel, with the sword and with famine and with death I will review upon that nation, says Jehovah, even to my finishing them by his hand.

The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord's temple in the presence of the priests and all the people.

So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true."

Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and it was broken by his hands.

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon.

(This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes (court officials) of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)

The letter was hand-carried by Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

And I was found to you, says Jehovah: and I turned back your captivity, and I gathered you from all the nations, and from all the places where I thrust you away there says Jehovah; and I turned you back to the place where I caused you to be carried away captive from thence.

And a curse was taken from them to all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah will set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babel roasted them in fire;

And Zephaniah the priest made clear to Jeremiah the prophet what was said in the letter, reading it to him.

The word which was to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

And it was in that day, says Jehovah of armies, I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and I will tear away thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve upon him.

And thou my servant Jacob shall not fear, says Jehovah, and thou Israel shalt not be dismayed: for behold me saving thee from far off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob turned back and rested, and was quiet, and none making afraid.

Why are you crying for help because of your wound? for your pain may never be taken away: because your evil-doing was so great and because your sins were increased, I have done these things to you.

Thus said Jehovah, Behold me turning back the captivity of Jacob's tents, and I will compassionate his habitations; and the city was built upon her hill, and the palace sat upon its judgment

And his mighty one was from himself, and his ruler shall go forth from his midst.; and I caused him to draw near, and he came near to me: for who this pledging his heart to approach to me? says Jehovah.

This is what the LORD says: "The people who survived the sword, found favor in the desert while Israel was seeking rest.

Jehovah was seen to me from afar off; and I loved thee an eternal love: for this I drew thee in kindness.

In weeping will they come, and I will lead them in mercies; I will cause them to go to the streams of waters in a straight way; they shall not stumble in it: for I was to Israel for a father, and Ephraim he is my first-born.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
And has redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.

And they came and shouted in the height of Zion, and they flowed together to the goodness of Jehovah, for the grain and for the new wine, and for the oil, and for the sons of the flock and the herd: and their soul was as a watered garden, and they shall not add to pine away any more.

Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

“I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.

‘After I turned away [from You], I repented;
After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse];
I was ashamed and even humiliated
Because I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’

Was Ephraim, a very precious son to me? Was he a most delightful child? For as often as I have spoken against him, I have, remembered, him again! For this cause, have my affections been deeply moved for him, I must have, compassion, upon him, Declareth Yahweh.

At this I (Jeremiah) awoke and looked, and my [trancelike] sleep was sweet [in the assurance it gave] to me.

And it was as I watched over them to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to cut off, and to break in pieces; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says Jehovah.

It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them," says the Lord.

For this the covenant that I will cut out with the house of Israel: After those days, says Jehovah; I gave my law in the midst of them, and upon their heart will I write it; and I was to them for God, and they shall be to me for a people.

Behold the days, says Jehovah, and the city was built to Jehovah, from the tower of Hananeel, even to the gate of the corner.

In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah.

And Jeremiah will say, The word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord, and he said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin, for you have the right of inheritance and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

“I bought the field that was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed out the money for him, seventeen shekels of silver.

There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. The other was left unsealed.

Behold the mounds, they came to the city to take it; and the city was given into the hand of the Chaldees warring against it from the face of the sword, and the famine, and the death; and it was what thou spakest; and behold thee seeing.

And thou saidst to me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy to thee the field for silver, and affirm witnesses; and the city was given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me.