For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.

“From the day that they built it [during the reign of Solomon], even to this day, this city has been such a provocation of My anger and My wrath, that I must remove it from My sight,

And they have been turning their backs and not their faces to me: and though I was their teacher, getting up early and teaching them, their ears were not open to teaching.

And they will set their abominations in the house which my name was called upon it, to defile it

They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.'

And now for this, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, to this city of which ye are saying, It was given into the hand of the king of Babel by sword and by famine, and by death.

And the field was purchased in in this land which ye are saying, It is a desolation without man and cattle; it was given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

And it was to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for an honor to all the nations of the earth who shall hear all the good which I did them: and they trembled and were moved for all the good and for all the peace which I did to it

Thus said Jehovah: Yet shall be heard in this place which ye were saying it was laid waste without man and without cattle, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, being desolate without man and without inhabitant, and without cattle,

Once again there will be sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, "Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever." For I, the Lord, affirm that I will restore the land to what it was in days of old.'

Thus said Jehovah, If ye shall break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, and there was not day and night in their season;

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah while King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the towns around it with a large army. This army consisted of troops from his own army and from the kingdoms and peoples of the lands under his dominion.

In peace you will die, and as [there was] burning for your ancestors, the former kings who were {before you}, so they will burn for you, and they will lament for you, "Alas, lord!" For [the] word I have spoken,' {declares} Yahweh." '"

He did this while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the cities of Lachish and Azekah. He was attacking these cities because they were the only fortified cities of Judah which were still holding out.

These are the words that the LORD spake unto Jeremiah the prophet, when Zedekiah was agreed with all the people at Jerusalem, that there should be proclaimed a liberty:

Everyone was supposed to free their male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was supposed to keep a fellow Judean enslaved.

And this was done by all the rulers and the people who had taken part in the agreement, and every one let his man-servant and his servant-girl go free, not to be used as servants any longer; they did so, and let them go.

That was when the Lord spoke to Jeremiah,

So then you recently turned and repented, doing what was right in My sight, each man proclaiming release [from servitude] to his countryman [who was his bond servant]; and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My Name.

And I will give the men who have gone against my agreement and have not given effect to the words of the agreement which they made before me, when the ox was cut in two and they went between the parts of it,

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

I took them to the Lord's temple. I took them into the room where the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah stayed. That room was next to the one where the temple officers stayed and above the room where Maaseiah son of Shallum, one of the doorkeepers of the temple, stayed.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

All the people living in Jerusalem and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah came to observe a fast before the Lord. The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord. He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary. That room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate. There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said.

Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll everything the Lord had said.

Then Micaiah gave them an account of all the words which had come to his ears when Baruch was reading the book to the people.

All the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah and the grandson of Cushi, to Baruch. They ordered him to tell Baruch, "Come here and bring with you the scroll you read in the hearing of the people." So Baruch son of Neriah went to them, carrying the scroll in his hand.

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

Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters. A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him.

As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them on the fire in the firepot. He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire.

Yet no man was abashed thereof, or rent his clothes: neither the king himself, nor his servants, though they heard all these words.

He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

"Get another scroll and write on it everything that was written on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the secretary, and he wrote on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned in the fire, and furthermore was added to them many words like these.

Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

(Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased.

And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that were besieging Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they brake up from Jerusalem.

"The Lord God of Israel says, 'Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. Tell him, "The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt.

The following events also occurred while the Babylonian forces had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem because the army of Pharaoh was coming.

Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there.

But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!"

Wherefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, causing him to be beaten, and to be laid in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For he was the ruler of the prison.

So Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan's house. He was kept there for a long time.

Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread be given to him every day from the baker's street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

Thus said Jehovah, He dwelling in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by death; and he going forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and his soul was to him for booty, and he lived.

Then Zedekiah the king said, See, he is in your hands: for the king was not able to do anything against them.

So the officials took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud.

An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. While the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate,

My lord, O King! wickedly, have these men done all that they haw done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom indeed they have cast into the dungeon, - since he would have died where he was because of the famine, for there is no bread any longer, in the city.

So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king, to the place where the clothing was kept, and got from there old clothing and bits of old cloth, and let them down by cords into the water-hole where Jeremiah was.

So pulling Jeremiah up with the cords they got him out of the water-hole: and Jeremiah was kept in the place of the armed watchmen.

Then Zedekiah the king sent and caused Jeremiah the prophet be called unto him, into the third entry, that was by the house of the LORD. And the king said unto Jeremiah, "I will ask thee somewhat, but hide nothing from me."

And if thou wilt not go forth to the chiefs of the king of Babel, and this city was given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they burnt it with fire, and thou shalt not escape from their hand.

behold, then, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Judah, brought forth unto the princes of the king of Babylon, - and, these very women, saying, The men thou wast wont to salute, have goaded thee on and prevailed upon thee, - Thy foot having sunk in the mire, they have turned away back.

If they do this, tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to die in the dungeon of Jonathan's house.'"

Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.

So Jeremiah remained confinedThe following events occurred when Jerusalem was captured.

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;

In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the town was broken into:)

Then Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon came and set up quarters in the Middle Gate.

There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah's sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death.

As for the remnant of the people that were in the city, and such as were come to help them, whatsoever was left of the common sort, Nebuzaradan the chief captain carried them to Babylon.

And from the weak people which to them was nothing, Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks left in the land of Judah, and he will give to them vineyards and fields in that day.

So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, Nebushazban, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah [a prominent citizen], the son of Ahikam [who had once saved Jeremiah’s life], the son of Shaphan, to take him home [with him to Mizpah]. So Jeremiah [was released and] lived among the people.

Now the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse,

For escaping, I will let thee escape, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, and thy soul was to thee for booty: for thou didst trust in me, says Jehovah.

This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had released him from Ramah, when he was bound in chains, along with all the exiles from Jerusalem and Judah who were being taken into exile in Babylon.

And the captain of the armed men took Jeremiah and said to him, The Lord your God gave word of the evil which was to come on this place:

And Jehovah will bring and do as he spake: because ye sinned against Jehovah, and ye heard not to his voice, and this word was to you.

While Jeremiah was still hesitating, the captain of the bodyguard said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed [governor] over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him an allowance of food and a gift and let him go.

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, in Mizpah, and was living with him among the people who were still in the land.

But in the seventh month Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama who was a member of the royal family and had been one of Zedekiah's chief officers, came with ten of his men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together with him there at Mizpah,

Now on the day after Gedaliah was killed, when as yet no one knew about it,

Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was pretending to cry as he walked along. When he met them, he said to them, "Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam."

And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.

Now the cistern where Ishmael threw all the dead bodies of those he had killed was a large one that King Asa had constructed as part of his defenses against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with dead bodies.

Then did Ishmael take captive all the remnant of the people that was in Mizpah, - the daughters of the king, and all the people that were left remaining in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners had committed unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, - yea Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive, and departed to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let our request come before you, and make prayer for us to the Lord your God, even for this small band of us; for we are only a small band out of what was a great number, as your eyes may see:

And Jeremiah the prophet will say to them, I heard; behold me praying to Jehovah your God according to your words; and it was all the word that Jehovah shall answer you I will announce to you; I will not withhold a word from you.

And it was the sword which ye were afraid of it, there it shall overtake you in the land of Egypt, and the famine which ye feared from it, shall cleave after you there in Egypt, and there shall ye die.

For thus said Jehovah of armies, God of Israel, as mine anger was poured out, and my wrath upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you in your going to Egypt: and ye were for a curse and for an astonishment and for reviling, and for reproach; and ye shall no more see this place.

If ye will not follow it, be sure that ye shall perish with the sword, with hunger and pestilence: even in the same place where your lust was to go, and dwell."

This is the word that was showed to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews, which dwelt in Egypt: at Migdol, at Tahpenes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros.

Wherefore my wrath and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.

I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse.

Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered,

The women added, "We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her."

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;

And the Lord was no longer able to put up with the evil of your doings and the disgusting things you did; and because of this your land has become a waste and a cause of wonder and a curse, with no one living in it, as at this day.

I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.'"

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him. This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

Insomuch as thou thoughtest thus, when thou wast writing, 'Woe is me, the LORD hath given me pain for my travail: I have wearied myself with sighing, and shall I find no rest?'

This is what you are to say to him: The Lord has said, Truly, the building which I put up will be broken down, and that which was planted by me will be uprooted, and this through all the land;

The word of Jehovah which was to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations;

He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.