Then they said, "Come, let's make up a plot against Jeremiah. After all, the priest's instruction, the wise man's counsel, and the prophet's message won't be destroyed. So let's verbally attack him. Pay no attention to anything he says!"

he went down to the palace, to the scribe's office, where all the officials were sitting. Elishama the scribe, Shemaiah's son Delaiah, Achbor's son Elnathan, Shaphan's son Gemariah, Hananiah's son Zedekiah, and all the other officials were there.

Mattan's son Shephatiah, Pashhur's son Gedaliah, Shelemiah's son Jucal, and Malchijah's son Pashhur heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:

Those who came to Gedaliah at Mizpah included Nethaniah's son Ishmael, Jonathan, Kareah's son Jonathan, Tanhumeth's son Seraiah, Ephai's sons from Netophah; and Jezaniah, the son of a man from Maacah. They came along with their men.

Confide ye not in words of falsehood, saying, Jehovah's temple, Jehovah's temple, Jehovah's temple is this.

while the king of Babylon’s army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah’s remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah, for they were the only ones left of Judah’s fortified cities.

Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.

So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker’s street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.

This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who want to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who wanted to take his life.’”

In those days and at that time—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
one will search for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for Judah’s sins,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive those I leave as a remnant.

Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, including the king's daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had appointed Ahikam's son Gedaliah. Nethaniah's son Ishmael took them captive and then set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Kareah's son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him took all the rest of the people from Mizpah whom he had rescued from Nethaniah's son Ishmael after he had killed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, including the young men, the soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs whom he had rescued from Gibeon.

This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Neriah's son Baruch, when in the fourth year of the reign of Josiah's son King Jehoiakim of Judah had, at Jeremiah's dictation, written these words in a scroll:

To Moab: This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "How terrible for Nebo, for it's laid waste. Kiriathaim is put to shame, it's captured. The fortress is put to shame, it's shattered.

When the Judean officials heard all these things, they came up from the king's house to the LORD's Temple and sat in the doorway of the New Gate of the LORD's Temple.

I brought them to the LORD's Temple to the office of the descendants of Igdaliah's son Hanan, the man of God, which was next to the office of the officials, and which was above the office of Shallum's son Maaseiah, the keeper of the threshold.

Then all the officials sent Nethaniah's son Jehudi, (who was also the grandson of Shelemiah and Cushi's great-grandson), to Baruch, who said, "Take the scroll that you read to the people and come." Neriah's son Baruch took the scroll with him and went to them.

Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.

Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of Jehovah's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Jehovah's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.

behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee: now that thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.

Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.

Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.

Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:

Return, unfaithful Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not look on you with anger,
for I am unfailing in My love.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not be angry forever.

When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’ It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made.

Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.

Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to give the prophet's word; and he took his place in the open square of the Lord's house, and said to all the people,

for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.
I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;
let’s cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey.

“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.

Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?”—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”—the Lord’s declaration.

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.

So Hanamel, the son of my father's brother, came to me, as the Lord had said, to the place of the armed watchmen, and said to me, Give the price and get my property which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: for you have the nearest relation's right to the heritage; so get it for yourself. Then it was clear to me that this was the word of the Lord.

I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from.”

I will do this because they have not listened to My words”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that I sent to them with My servants the prophets time and time again. And you too have not listened.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

for the days are certainly coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.”

Jacob’s leader will be one of them;
his ruler will issue from him.
I will invite him to Me, and he will approach Me,
for who would otherwise risk his life to approach Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.

This is what the Lord says:

Keep your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for the reward for your work will come—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
and your children will return from the enemy’s land.

If this fixed order departs from My presence—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
then also Israel’s descendants will cease
to be a nation before Me forever.

This is what the Lord says:

If the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below explored,
I will reject all of Israel’s descendants
because of all they have done—
this is the Lord’s declaration.

Fields will be purchased with silver, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed, and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah’s cities—the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev—because I will restore their fortunes.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

“This is what the Lord says: In this place, which you say is a ruin, without man or beast—that is, in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets that are a desolation without man, without inhabitant, and without beast—there will be heard again

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms.

I am about to give the command”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”

So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king, who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles.

The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

So My fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.

Instead, we will do everything we said we would: burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food and good things and saw no disaster,

“As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind.

About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim son of Josiah: