This message from the LORD came to him during the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon's son Josiah, the king of Judah,

and during the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah's son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

because I'm about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north," declares the LORD. "They'll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

"As for me, today I'm making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

"But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up, if they can deliver you in the time of your trouble. You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

I thought, "After she has done all these things, she will return to me.' But she didn't return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw this.

I saw that even though I had sent unfaithful Israel away for all her adulteries and had given her a divorce decree, her treacherous sister Judah didn't fear, and she, too, committed adultery.

Yet in all this her treacherous sister Judah didn't return to me with her whole heart, but rather deceptively," declares the LORD.

Then the LORD told me, "Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and together they'll come to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance."

For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Break up your unplowed ground, and don't sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds."

Declare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, "Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, "Gather together and let's go to the fortified cities!'

"Tell the nations, "Here they come!' Proclaim to Jerusalem, "The besieging forces are coming from a distant land. They cry out against the cities of Judah.

For both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.

"Declare this to the descendants of Jacob, and proclaim it in Judah:

"Stand at the gate of the LORD's Temple and proclaim this message there. Say, "Listen to this message from the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD.'"

Don't you see what they're doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

"For the people of Judah have done evil in my eyes," declares the LORD. "They have put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name in order to defile it.

In the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I'll bring an end to the sound of gladness and rejoicing, to the sounds of the bridegroom and bride, for the land will become a wasteland."

"At that time," declares the LORD, "the bones of the king of Judah, the bones of his officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.

"I'll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I'll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants."

Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, all those who live in the desert and shave the corners of their beard; indeed all the other nations that are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel that is uncircumcised of heart."

The sound of a report, it's coming now! There is a great commotion from a land in the north to make the towns of Judah desolate, a refuge for jackals."

"Listen to the words of this covenant, and convey them to the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

The LORD told me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You are to say, "Listen to the words of this covenant and do them.

The LORD told me, "Conspiracy has been found among the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old who refused to listen to my words. They followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant which I made with their ancestors."

The towns of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they'll be no help at all to them in the time of their disaster.

Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns, and you have set up as many altars to the shameful idols as there are streets in Jerusalem. You burn incense to Baal on these altars.

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies who planted you has called for disaster on you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, has provoked me by burning incense to Baal."

This is what the LORD says about all the wicked neighbors who strike out against the land I've given to my people Israel as their inheritance: "I'm about to uproot them from their land, and I'll uproot the house of Judah from among them.

"This is what the LORD says: "In the same way I'll ruin the pride of Judah and the pride of Jerusalem.

For just as the belt clings tightly to a person's waist, so I've made all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah cling tightly to me,' declares the LORD. "I did this so that they would be my people, name, praise, and glory. But they wouldn't listen.'

The towns in the Negev will be closed up, and there will be no one to open them. All Judah will be taken into exile and be completely exiled.

"Judah mourns, and her gates languish. The people mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you despise Zion? Why have you struck us, so that there is no healing for us? We hoped for peace, but no good came, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

I'll make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Hezekiah's son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron stylus. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of their altars.

The LORD told me, "Go, stand in the gate of the people, where the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in the other gates of Jerusalem as well.

Say to them, "Kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem entering these gates, hear this message from the LORD.

then kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David will come through the gates of this city. They, their princes, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem will come riding in chariots and on horses, and this city will be inhabited forever.

They'll come from the cities of Judah, from the places around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's Temple.

"Now say to the people of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem, "This is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm designing a disaster just for you, and I'm making plans against you. Each one of you must repent from his evil way. Make your ways and deeds right."'

"You are to say, "Hear this message from the LORD, you kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem!

""This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "I'm about to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of all who hear about it tingle. For they have forsaken me and have treated this place as foreign. In it they have burned incense to other gods that neither they, their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah knew. They have also filled this place with the blood of innocent people.

I'll shatter the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I'll make them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hands of those seeking their lives. I'll give their dead bodies as food to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the land.

The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be polluted like Topheth, as will be all the houses on whose roofs people burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out liquid offerings to other gods."'"

For this is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your loved ones. They'll fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it. I'll give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will take them into exile to Babylon, and he will execute them with swords.

I'll turn over all the wealth of this city, all its possessions, all its valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah right into the hands of their enemies, and they'll plunder them, capture them, and take them to Babylon.

Afterwards," declares the LORD, "I'll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He'll execute them with swords and won't pity them. He won't spare them, nor will he have compassion on them."'

"To the house of the king of Judah say, "Hear this message from the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this:

"Listen to this message from the LORD, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates.

For this is what the LORD says about the house of the king of Judah, "You are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon. Yet I'll surely make you a desert, towns where no one lives.

"For this is what the LORD says about Josiah's son Shallum, king of Judah, who reigned in place of his father Josiah: "He went out from this place and won't return to it again.

Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, "They won't lament for him with these words: "How terrible, my brother, How terrible, my sister!' They won't lament for him with these words: "How terrible, lord, How terrible, your majesty!'

"As certainly as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD, "even if Jehoiakim's son King Jehoiachin of Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off

This is what the LORD says: "Write this man off as childless, a man who does not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed in sitting on the throne of David, or ever ruling in Judah again.'"

In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: "The LORD Our Righteousness.'

After Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths from Jerusalem into exile, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed right in front of the Temple of the LORD.

"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Like these good figs, so I'll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt.

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. (This was also the first year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.)

This is what Jeremiah the prophet told all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem:

"From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon's son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I've spoken to you again and again, but you haven't listened.

Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, its kings and officials to make them into a ruin, an object of horror and scorn, and a curse, as it is this day;

In the beginning of the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this message came from the LORD:

"This is what the LORD says: "Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's Temple and tell those from all the cities of Judah who are coming to worship at the LORD's Temple everything that I've commanded you to say to them. Don't leave out a word!

"Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah to all the people of Judah, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Zion will be a plowed field, and Jerusalem a ruin. The Temple Mount will be a wooded hill."'

"Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone in Judah kill him? Didn't he fear the LORD and seek the LORD's favor, and so the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he had spoken to them about. We're bringing great disaster on ourselves.

At the beginning of the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

Then send messengers to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through the envoys who come to Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah.

I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: "Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live!

If they're prophets, and if they have a message from the LORD, let them plead with the LORD of the Heavenly Armies so that the utensils that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem might not be taken to Babylon.

that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon

For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says about the vessels that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem,

In that same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year and the fifth month, Azzur's son Hananiah, the prophet from Gibeon, told me at the LORD's Temple in front of the priests and all the people,

I'll bring back Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon to this place,' declares the LORD, "for I'll break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths left Jerusalem.

The letter was sent by Shaphan's son Elasah and by Hilkiah's son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in Babylon, and it said,

Indeed, the time will come,' declares the LORD, "when I'll restore the security of my people Israel and Judah,' says the LORD. "I'll bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they'll possess it.'"

These are the words that the LORD spoke about Israel and Judah:

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "They'll again speak this message in the land of Judah and its towns when I restore their fortunes: "The LORD bless you, righteous dwelling, holy mountain.'

Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, along with farmers and those who follow the flock.

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah using people and animals as seed.

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the palace of the king of Judah

Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye.

because of all the evil that the Israelis and Judeans have done to provoke me. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and those living in Jerusalem have done these things.

They built the high places of Baal that are in the Hinnom Valley in order to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech something that I didn't command, nor did it ever enter my mind for them to require this utterly repugnant thing and lead Judah into sin."

People will buy fields for money, sign deeds, seal them, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, the towns of the hill country, the towns of the Shephelah, and the towns of the Negev, for I'll restore their fortunes,' declares the LORD."

For this is what the LORD God of Israel says about the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to defend against the siege ramps and the sword,

I'll restore the security of Judah and Israel and rebuild them as they were at first.

"This is what the LORD says: "You are saying about this place, "It is a ruin without people and without animals." Yet in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate places without inhabitants and without animals, there will again be heard

In the towns of the hill country, in the towns of the Shephelah, in the towns of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them,' says the LORD."

""Look, the time is coming,' declares the LORD, "when I'll fulfill the good promise that I spoke concerning the house of Israel and Judah.

At that time Judah will be delivered and Jerusalem will dwell in safety. And this is the name people will call it, "The LORD is Our Righteousness."'

"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, "This is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire.