And the chiefs will say to the king, Now shall this man be put to death: for thus he is relaxing the hands of the men of war remaining in this city, and the hands of all the people to speak to them according to these words; for this man sought not for peace to this people but for evil.

And king Zedekiah will say, Behold him in your hands; for the king will not be able a word with you.

And they will take Jeremiah and send him to the pit of Malchiah son of the king which was in the enclosure of the prison: and they will cast Jeremiah with cords, and in the pit no water but mud: and Jeremiah will sink in the mud.

And the king's servant, the Cushite, a man, an eunuch, will hear, and he in the house of the king, that they gave Jeremiah to the pit; and the king sitting in the gate of Benjamin.

And the king's servant went forth from the house of the king, and he will speak to the king, saying,

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have put into the water-hole; and he will come to his death in the place where he is through need of food: for there is no more bread in the town.

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian and said, "Take from hence thirty men whom thou wilt, and draw up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die."

And the king's servant will take the men in his hand and go to the house of the king under the store-house, and he will take from thence old torn rags, and rags rubbed small, and he will cast them to Jeremiah into the pit with cords.

And the king's servant the Cashite will say to Jeremiah, Put now the old rags torn and rubbed small, under the joints of thy hands from under the cords; and Jeremiah will do so.

And they will draw up Jeremiah with the cords, and bring him up out of the pit: and Jeremiah dwelt in the enclosure of the prison.

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. If I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

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."

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "The Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, says, 'You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down. Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared.

But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down. You yourself will not escape from them.'"

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.

But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:

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.'

"All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the king of Babylon. This city will be burned down."

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 all the chiefs will come to Jeremiah, and they will ask him: and he will announce to them according to all these words which the king commanded. And they will be silent from him, for the word was not heard.

And all the chiefs of the king of Babel will come and sit in the middle gate, Nergal-Sarezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rab-Mag, and all the remainder of the chiefs of the king of Babel.

And it will be as Zedekiah king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, and they will flee and go forth at night from the city the way of the king's garden, in the gate between the two walls: and he will go forth the way of the desert

And the army of the Chaldeans will pursue after them, and they will overtake Zedekiah in the sterile region of Jericho, and they will take him and bring him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, to Riblah in the hand of Hamath, and he will speak with him judgments.

And the king of Babel will slaughter the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: and all the nobles of Judah the king of Babel slaughtered.

And he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah, and he will bind him with fetters of brass to bring him to Babel.

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.

And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel will command concerning Jeremiah by the hand of Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks, saying,

And Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks will send, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rab-Mag, and all the chiefs of the king of Babel;

And they will send and take Jeremiah from the enclosure of the prison and they will give him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, to carry him forth to the house: and he will dwell in the midst of the people.

"Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, 'The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, "I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it.

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

I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. You will escape with your life because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!"'"

And the chief of the cooks will take to Jeremiah and say to him, Jehovah thy God spake this evil against 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.

But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. Go wherever you choose."

And while he will not turn back, And turn back to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babel appointed over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him in the midst of the people: or to all the straight in thine eyes to go, go. And the chief of the cooks: will give to him a portion and a gift, and he will send him away.

And Jeremiah will go to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpeh, and he will dwell with him in the midst of the people being left in the land.

And all the chiefs of the armies which were in the field, they and their men will hear, for the king of Babel appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he committed to him the men and the women and children and the poor of the land from whom they were not carried away captive to Babel.

And they will come to Gedaliah to Mizpeh, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maachathite, they and their men.

Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. "Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

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 all the Jews from all the places where they were thrust out there will turn back, and they will come to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpeh, and they will gather wine and the fruit harvest exceeding much.

And they will say to him, Knowing, wilt thou know that Baalis, king of the sons of Ammon sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to strike thee in soul? And Gedaliah son of Ahikam believed not in them.

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 Gedaliah son of Ahikam will say to Johanan son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this word, for thou speakest falsehood concerning Ishmael.

And it will be in the seventh month, came Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, from the seed of the kingdom, and the chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpeh, and there will they eat bread together in Mizpeh.

And Ishmael son of Nethaniah will rise, and the ten men which were with him, and they will strike Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he will kill him whom the king of Babel appointed over the land.

And it will be in the second day of killing Gedaliah, and not a man knew.

And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.

And Ishmael son of Nethaniah came forth to meet them from Mizpeh; he went going and weeping: and it will be as he fell in with them, and he will say to them, Come to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam.

And it will be as they came to the midst of the city, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, will slaughter them to the midst of the pit, he and the men that were with him.

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.

And Ishmael will carry away captive all the remnant of the people which were in Mizpeh, the king's daughters and all the people being left in Mizpeh, which Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks committed to Gedaliah son of Ahikam: and Ishmael son of Nethaniah will carry them captive, and he will depart to pass over to the sons of Ammon.

And Johanan son of Kareah will hear, and all the chiefs of the armies which were with him, all the evil which Ishmael son of Nethaniah did.

And they will take all the men and go to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and they will find him at the many waters which are in the hill.

And it will be as all the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah, and all the chiefs of the army which are with him, they will rejoice

And all the people which Ishmael carried away captive from Mizpeh will turn about and turn back and go to Johanan son of Kareah.

And Johanan son of Kareah will take, and all the captains of the armies which were with him, all the remnant whom he turned back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah from Mizpeh, after he struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the strong men of war, and the women and children, and the eunuchs which he turned back from the hill.

And they will go and dwell in the habitation of Chimham, which is near the house of bread, to go to come into Egypt,

And all the chiefs of the armies will draw near, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the small even to the great.

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition be presented before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, that is, for all this remnant [of the people of Judah]; for we were once many, but now [only] a few of us are left, as you see with your own eyes, [so please pray]

Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do."

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."

Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us.

We will obey what the Lord our God to whom we are sending you tells us to do. It does not matter whether we like what he tells us or not. We will obey what he tells us to do so that things will go well for us."

And it will be from the end of ten days, and the word of Jehovah will be to Jeremiah.

And he will call to Johanan son of Kareah, and to all the chiefs of the armies which were with him, and to all the people, from small even to great,

And he will say to them, Thus said Jehovah God of Israel, whom ye sent me to him for your supplication to fall before him.

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.

Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it!

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

"You must not disobey the Lord your God by saying, 'We will not stay in this land.'

You must not say, 'No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, or hear the enemy's trumpet calls, or starve for lack of food.'

the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to Egypt. You will die there.

All the people who are determined to go and settle in Egypt will die from war, starvation, or disease. No one will survive or escape the disaster I will 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.'

You are making a fatal mistake. For you sent me to the Lord your God and asked me, 'Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us what the Lord our God says and we will do it.'

And I will announce to you this day; and ye heard not to the voice of Jehovah your God, and to all which he sent me to you.

So now be very sure of this: You will die from war, starvation, or disease in the place where you want to go and live."

And it will be as Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, which Jehovah their God sent him to them all these words,

And Azariah son of Hoshaiah will say, and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsehood: Jehovah our God sent thee not to say, Ye shall not go to Egypt to sojourn there:

But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us. He wants to hand us over to the Babylonians so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon."

And Johanan son of Kareah will take, and all the chiefs of the armies, all the remnant of Judah who turned back from all the nations, where they were thrust away there to sojourn in the land of Judah;

And they will come to the land of Egypt: for they heard not to the voice of Jehovah, and they will come even to Tahpanhes.

And the word of Jehovah will be to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

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.

He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war.

He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed.

He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt."'"

And I will send to you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Now ye shall not do this abomination which I hated.

And my wrath will be poured out, and mine anger, and it will be kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they shall be for a waste, for a desolation as this day.

"So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, 'Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe—even to cut off (destroy) all Judah [from the land].

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.

I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.