Thus says the LORD, He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prize, and shall live.

And Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch who is in the king's house, heareth that they have put Jeremiah into the pit; and the king is sitting at the gate of Benjamin,

"My lord the king, these men have done evil [in] all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, [in] that they have thrown [him] into the pit, and he will die {there} {because of} starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city."

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and took him into the rulers' doorway in the house of the Lord: and the king said to Jeremiah, I have a question to put to you; keep nothing back from me.

Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life to live, I won't have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you."

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, These are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel: If you go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then you will have life, and the town will not be burned with fire, and you and your family will be kept from death:

And if thou dost not go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath this city been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burnt it with fire, and thou dost not escape from their hand.'

And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I [am] afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me."

But Jeremiah said, They will not give you up: be guided now by the word of the Lord as I have given it to you, and it will be well for you, and you will keep your life.

Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah [are] being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, [they are] saying, '{Your trusted friends} have misled you, and they have prevailed against you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, [so] they turned backward.'

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man have knowledge of these words, and you will not be put to death.

And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, 'Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal [it] from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?'

See thou give them this answer, 'I have humbly besought the king, that he will let me lie no more in Jonathan's house, that I die not there.'"

And it cometh to pass, when Zedekiah king of Judah, and all the men of war, have seen them, that they flee and go forth by night from the city, the way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and he goeth forth the way of the plain.

And the house of the king, and the house of the people, have the Chaldeans burnt with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem they have broken down.

And the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to him, and the remnant of the people who are left, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, removed to Babylon.

And of the poor people, who have nothing, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left in the land of Judah, and he giveth to them vineyards and fields on the same day.

'Go, and thou hast spoken to Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in My words unto this city for evil, and not for good, and they have been before thee in that day.

And I have delivered thee in that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and thou art not given into the hand of the men of whose face thou art afraid,

For I wilt, surely, deliver, thee, and by the sword, shalt thou not fall, - but thou shalt have thine own life as a spoil, Because thou hast trusted in me, Declareth Yahweh.

and so Yahweh hath brought it about and done it just as he threatened, - for ye have sinned against Yahweh, and have not hearkened unto his voice, and so this thing hath befallen you.

Now, therefore, lo! I have loosed thee today, from the fetters which were upon thy hand: If it be good in thine eyes to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will set urine eyes upon thee, but if evil in thine eyes to come with me into Babylon, forbear, - see! all the land, is before thee, whither it may be good and right in thine eyes to go, thither, go!

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;

And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to them and their men, saying, Have no fear of the servants of the Chaldaeans: go on living in the land, and become the servants of the king of Babylon, and all will be well.

But as for me, behold me! remaining in Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who may come unto us, Ye, however, gather ye wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your reties which ye have seized.

And also all the Jews who are in Moab, and among the sons of Ammon, and in Edom, and who are in all the lands, have heard that the king of Babylon hath given a remnant to Judah, and that he hath appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan,

and all the Jews from all the places whither they have been driven, turn back and enter the land of Judah, unto Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and they gather wine and summer fruit -- very much.

And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces that are in the field, have come in unto Gedaliah to Mizpah,

Then, Johanan son of Kareah, spake unto Gedaliah secretly, in Mizpah, saying, - Let me go I pray thee, and smite Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and not, a man, shall know it, - wherefore should he smite thee to death, and all Judah who have gathered themselves unto thee, be dispersed, and the remnant of Judah perish?

And Ishmael son of Nethaniah riseth, and the ten men who have been with him, and they smite Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he putteth him to death whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the land.

And all the Jews who have been with him, with Gedaliah, in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who have been found there -- the men of war -- hath Ishmael smitten.

But, ten men, were found among them, who said unto Ishmael - Do not put us to death, for we have secret treasures in the field, wheat and barley and oil and honey, So he forbare and put them not to death in the midst of their brethren.

from the presence of the Chaldeans, for they have been afraid of them, for Ishmael son of Nethaniah had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

and they say unto Jeremiah the prophet, 'Let, we pray thee, our supplication fall before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, for all this remnant; for we have been left a few out of many, as thine eyes do see us;

And Jeremiah the prophet, said unto them, I have heard; behold me! praying unto Yahweh your God according to your words, - and it shall come to pass that the whole thing that Yahweh shall answer you, I will tell you, I will keep back from you, nothing.

And they have said to Jeremiah, 'Jehovah is against us for a witness true and faithful, if -- according to all the word with which Jehovah thy God doth send thee unto us -- we do not so.

whether it be good or evil. We will hearken unto the voice of our LORD God to whom we send thee that we may prosper, when we have followed the voice of the LORD our God."

If ye will indeed abide, in this land, then will I build you up, and not pull you down, and plant you and not uproot you , - for I have compassion as touching the calamity which I have caused you.

Have no fear of the king of Babylon, of whom you are now in fear; have no fear of him, says the Lord: for I am with you to keep you safe and to give you salvation from his hands.

that I may grant you compassions and he may have compassion upon you, - and suffer you to return unto your own soil.

But if you say, We have no desire to go on living in this land; and do not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God,

saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:

And now, therefore, hear ye a word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: If ye really set your faces to enter Egypt, and have gone in to sojourn there,

So shall it be with all the men who have set their faces to enter Egypt to sojourn there, they shah die by sword, by famine or by pestilence, - and they shall have neither survival nor escape, from the face of the calamity which I am about to bring in upon them.

For - Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, - Just as mine anger and mine indignation have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall mine indignation be poured out upon you when ye enter into Egypt, - thus shall ye become a curse, and an astonishment and a contempt and a reproach, and ye shall no more see this place.

Yahweh hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, Do not enter into Egypt: Know certainly, that I have taken you to witness to-day.

For ye have deceived yourselves at the cost of your lives, for, ye yourselves, sent me unto Yahweh your God, saying, - Pray thou in our behalf, unto Yahweh our God, - and according to all that Yahweh our God shall say, so, tell us and we will do it.

Therefore have I told you to-day, - and yet ye have not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh your God, even in any thing for which he hath sent me unto you.

Now, therefore, know ye certainly, that by sword, by famine, or by pestilence, shall ye die, - in the place whither ye have desired to go, to sojourn.

Then Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the men of pride, said to Jeremiah, You have said what is false: the Lord our God has not sent you to say, You are not to go into the land of Egypt and make your living-place there:

And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces, and all the people, have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, to dwell in the land of Judah;

and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces, take all the remnant of Judah who have turned from all the nations whither they were driven to sojourn in the land of Judah,

and they enter the land of Egypt, for they have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and they enter unto Tahpanhes.

Then shalt thou say unto them - Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel - Behold me! sending and fetching Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne over these stones which I have hid, - and he shall spread his canopy over them.

And I have kindled a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and it hath burned them, and he hath taken them captive, and covered himself with the land of Egypt, as cover himself doth the shepherd with his garment, and he hath gone forth thence in peace;

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the towns of Judah. And look, they [are] a site of ruins this day, and there is not in them an inhabitant,

because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, that they knew not, neither they, nor ye, nor your fathers.

And I send unto you all my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending, saying: I pray you, do not this abomination that I have hated --

and they have not hearkened nor inclined their ear, to turn back from their wickedness, not to make perfume to other gods,

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.

in that ye provoke me to anger by the works of your own hands, burning incense to other gods, in the land of Egypt, which ye have been entering to sojourn, - that ye should cut them off from you, and that ye should become a contempt and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

Have ye forgotten the wicked ways of your fathers and the wicked ways of the kings of Judah, and the wicked ways of his wives, and your own wicked ways, and the wicked ways of your own wives, - which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

They have not been crushed, unto this day; neither have they been afraid, neither have they walked in my law, and in ray statutes, which I set before you and before your fathers,

And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

So I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague.

and there shall be neither escape nor survival, unto the remnant of Judah who have been entering, to sojourn there into the land of Egypt, - that they should return to the land of Judah even when they are lifting up their soul to return to dwell there, for none shall return, saving fugitives.

"[Concerning] the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we [are] not going to listen to you!

But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

whereas, from the very time we ceased burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out to her drink-offerings, we have lacked everything, - and by sword and by famine, have we been consumed.

And, though we are burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out to her drink-offerings, is it, without our men that we have made to her sacrificial cakes as images of her and poured out to her, drink-offerings?

The perfumes which you have been burning in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers and your kings and your rulers and the people of the land, had the Lord no memory of them, and did he not keep them in mind?

so that Jehovah could not longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

{Because of} [the fact] that you made smoke offerings, and that you sinned against Yahweh, and you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you have not walked in his law, and in his statute, and in his legal provisions, {therefore} this disaster has happened to you, as [it is] this day."

Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives, have both spoken with your mouth and with your hands, have ye fulfilled saying, We will, certainly perform, our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her drink-offerings: the women will certainly confirm, your vows, and, certainly perform, your vows.

Therefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, all Judah, who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, - Behold me! I have sworn by my great Name, Saith Yahweh, That my Name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah saying - By the life of My Lord, Yahweh in all the land of Egypt.

Lo, I am watching over them for evil, and not for good, and consumed have been all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, by sword and by famine, till their consumption.

And [the] survivors of [the] sword will return from the land of Egypt [to] the land of Judah {few in number}. And all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there will know whose word will endure, from me or from them.

And this will be the sign to you, says the Lord, that I will give you punishment in this place, so that you may see that my words will certainly have effect against you for evil:

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.'

Thou didst say, Surely woe to me! For Yahweh hath added sorrow unto my pain, - I am weary with my moaning, And rest, have I not found!

Thus you will say to him: 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, what I have built I [am] about to tear down, and what I have planted I [am] about to pluck up, it [is] all the land.

And as for you, are you looking for great things for yourself? Have no desire for them: for truly I will send evil on all flesh, says the Lord: but your life I will keep safe from attack wherever you go.

Why have I seen it? They, panic-struck, are drawing back, Yea, their heroes, are crushed, Yea they have, fled, and not turned, - Terror round about! Declareth Yahweh.

Let not the swift, flee, Nor let the hero, escape, - Northward, beside the river Euphrates, have they stumbled, and fallen.

But that day is the day of the Lord, the Lord of armies, a day of punishment when he will take payment from his haters: and the sword will have all its desire, drinking their blood in full measure: for there is an offering to the Lord, the Lord of armies, in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt!
You have multiplied remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.

The nations have heard of thy disgrace, And, thine outcry, hath filled the earth, - For hero against hero, have they stumbled, Together, have fallen, the twain!

Wherefore have thy valiant ones been laid prostrate? He hath made no stand, because, Yahweh, hath driven him back:

Hath made many a one to be stumbling, Yea fallen is every one against his neighbour, So they have said - Arise and let us return to our own people, And unto the land of our birth, From the face of the sword of the oppressor.

They have cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt is a desolation, Passed by hath the appointed time.

Even her hirelings in her midst are like fatted calves, For, even they, have turned - have fled at once! have made no stand! For, their day of doom, hath come upon them, The time of their visitation.

Her noise, like a serpent, departeth, - For, with a force, they advance, And with axes, have they come against her, like them who fell trees:

They have cut down her forest Declareth Yahweh, Surely he cannot be searched out, - For they have outnumbered locusts, and cannot be counted.

And I have given them into the hand of those seeking their life, And into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants, And afterwards it is inhabited, As in days of old -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

But have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, and do not be troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back, and will be quiet and in peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.

Thou, do not fear, O my Servant Jacob, Urgeth Yahweh, For, with thee, am I: Though I make an end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, Yet of thee, will I not make an end, But will correct thee in measure, And not hold thee, guiltless,

'Thus said Jehovah: Lo, waters are coming up from the north, And have been for an overflowing stream, And they overflow the land and its fulness, The city, and the inhabitants in it, And men have cried out, And howled hath every inhabitant of the land.

From the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his mighty ones, From the rushing of his chariot, the noise of his wheels, Fathers have not turned unto sons, From feebleness of hands,

On account of the day that cometh to lay waste all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Zidon every escaped one that could have helped, - For Yahweh is laying waste the Philistines, The remnant of the Coastland of Caphtor.

O sword of the Lord, how long will you have no rest? put yourself back into your cover; be at peace, be quiet.