“So says the Lord, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.’

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,

"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.

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.'

Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me."

Then Jeremiah answered, "You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared.

All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying, 'Your trusted friends misled you; they have gotten the best of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they have turned their backs on you.'

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

The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill 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.

Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who did not have anything, and he gave them vineyards and fields on that 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 will certainly rescue you; and you will not fall by the sword, but you will have your [own] life as a reward of battle, because you have placed your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’”

Now the Lord has brought it about and has done just as He promised. Because you [people of Judah] have sinned against the Lord and did not listen to and honor His voice, therefore this thing has happened to 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.

I for my part will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians whenever they come to us. You for your part go ahead and harvest the wine, the dates, the figs, and the olive oil, and store them in jars. Go ahead and settle down in the towns that you have taken over."

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 spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, "Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear."

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 there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. So he spared their lives and did not kill them along with the rest.

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;

The prophet Jeremiah answered them, "Agreed! I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. I will not keep anything back from you."

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 you will just stay in this land, I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will firmly plant you. I will not uproot you. For I am filled with sorrow because of the disaster that I have brought on 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.

I will have compassion on you so that he in turn will have mercy on you and allow you to return to your land.'

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 all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.”’”

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.'

The Lord has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, “Do not go into Egypt!” Know with certainty that I [Jeremiah] have warned you and testified to you this day

that you have deceived yourselves; for you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, declare it to us and we will do it.”

This day I have told you what he said. But you do not want to obey the Lord by doing what he sent me to tell 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 tell them, 'The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, "I will bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I have buried. He will pitch his royal tent 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;

"The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted.

Because of the evil which they have done, moving me to wrath by burning perfumes in worship to other gods, who were not their gods or yours or the gods of their 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,

So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.'

Why do you [deliberately] provoke Me to anger with the works (idols) of your hands, burning sacrifices and incense to [make-believe] gods in the land of Egypt, where you [of your own accord] have come to live [as temporary residents], that you might be cut off and become a curse and a disgrace [an object of taunts] among all the nations of the earth?

Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives?

To this day your people have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors.'

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.

For I will punish all the inhabitants of the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with virulent disease;

None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.'"

“As for the word (message) that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you.

But rather we will certainly perform every word of the vows we have made: to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven (Ishtar) and to pour out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves and our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for [then] we had plenty of food and were prosperous and saw no misfortune.

But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation."

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?

The Lord could no longer endure it, because of the evil of your acts and the repulsive acts which you have committed; because of them your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you."

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, "We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven." Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!'

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all [you people of] Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have sworn [an oath] by My great Name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My Name shall never again be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.”

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.

Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs.'

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.'

You have said, "I feel so hopeless! For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can't find any rest."'"

The Lord told Jeremiah, "Tell Baruch, 'The Lord says, "I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth.

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.

What do I see?" says the Lord. "The soldiers are terrified. They are retreating. They have been defeated. They are overcome with terror; they desert quickly without looking back.

Let not the swift man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have 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 obtain balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied remedies;
There is no healing for you.

The nations have heard of your disgrace and shame,
And your cry [of distress] has filled the earth.
For warrior has stumbled against warrior,
And both of them have fallen together.

“Why have your mighty ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them down.

“They have repeatedly stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the sword of the oppressor.’

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

“Also her mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened calves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their punishment.

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,” declares the Lord;
“Surely it will no more be found,
Even though they are now more numerous than locusts
And are without number.

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.

“Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a full and complete end of all the nations
To which I have driven you;
Yet I will not make a full end of you.
But I will discipline and correct you appropriately
And by no means will I declare you guiltless or leave you unpunished.”

'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.

“Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,
The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the limpness of their 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.