when the LORD had first spoken with him, in the time of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his kingdom;

and so during unto the time of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, and unto the eleven years of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah were ended: when Jerusalem was taken, even in the fifth Month.

For lo, I will call all the officers of the kingdoms of the north, sayeth the LORD. And they shall come, and every one shall set his seat in the gates of Jerusalem, and in all their walls round about and through all the cities of Judah.

For behold, this day do I make thee a strong fenced town, an iron pillar, and a wall of steel against the whole land; against the kings and mighty men of Judah; against the priests and people of the land.

I shall answer them: Where are now thy gods, that thou hast made thee? Bid them stand up, and help thee in the time of need! For look how many cities thou hast, O Judah: so many gods hast thou also.

Hast thou seen also, when she had done all this, how I said unto her that she should turn again unto me, and yet she is not returned? Judah, that unfaithful sister of hers also saw this:

Namely, that after I had well seen the adultery of the shrinking harlot Israel, I put her away, and gave her a bill of divorcement. For all this, her unfaithful sister Judah was not ashamed, but went back and played the whore also.

Nevertheless, her unfaithful sister Judah is not turned unto me again with her whole heart, but feignedly, sayeth the LORD."

And the LORD said unto me, "The shrinking Israel is more righteous than the unfaithful Judah:

Then those that be of the house of Judah shall go into the house of Israel: and they shall come together out of the North, into the same land that I have given your fathers.

For thus sayeth the LORD, to all Judah and Jerusalem, "Plow your land, and sow not among the thorns.

Be circumcised in the LORD, and cut away the foreskins of your heart, all ye of Judah, and all the indwellers of Jerusalem: that my indignation break not out like fire, and kindle so that no man may quench it, because of the wickedness of your imaginations."

Preach in Judah and Jerusalem, cry out and speak, "Blow the trumpets in the land, cry that every man may hear, and say, 'Gather you together, and we will go into strong cities.

Behold, the Heathen give Jerusalem warning, and preach unto her, that her destroyers are coming from far countries. They tell the cities of Judah the same also.

For unfaithfully hath the house of Israel and Judah forsaken me, sayeth the LORD.

Preach this unto the house of Jacob, and cry it out in Judah, and say thus,

"Stand under the gates of the LORD's house, and cry out these words there, with a loud voice, and say, Hear the word of the LORD all ye of Judah, that go in at this door, to honour the LORD.

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, and without Jerusalem?

For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, sayeth the LORD. They have set up their abominations, in the house that hath my name, and have defiled it.

And as for the voice of mirth and gladness of the cities of Judah and Jerusalem; the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride: I will make them cease, for the land shall be desolate."

At the same time, sayeth the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests and prophets, yea, and the bones of the citizens of Jerusalem, shall be brought out of their graves

I will make Jerusalem also a heap of stones, and a den of venomous worms. And I will make the cities of Judah so waste, that no man shall dwell therein."

Behold, the noise is hard at hand, and great sedition out of the north: to make the cities of Judah a wilderness, and a dwelling place for dragons.

"Hear the words of the covenant, and speak unto all Judah, and to all them that dwell at Jerusalem.

Then the LORD said unto me again, "Preach this in the cities of Judah and round about Jerusalem, and say: Hear the words of this covenant, that ye may keep them.

They have turned themselves to the blasphemies of their forefathers, which had no lust to hear my word. Even likewise have these also followed strange gods, and worshiped them. The houses of Israel and Judah have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers.

Then shall the towns of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem go, and call upon their gods, unto whom they made their oblations: but they are not able to help them in time of their trouble.

For as many cities as thou hast, O Judah, so many gods hast thou also: And look how many streets there be in thee, O Jerusalem: so many shameful altars have ye set up, to offer upon them unto Baal.

For the LORD of Hosts that planted thee hath devised a plague for thee, O thou houses of Israel and Judah, for the evil that ye have done to provoke him to wrath, in that ye did service unto Baal."

Thus sayeth the LORD upon all mine evil neighbours, that lay hand on mine heritage, which I have given my people of Israel, "Behold, I will pluck them, namely Israel, out of their land; and put out the house of Judah from among them.

"Thus sayeth the LORD: Even so will I corrupt the pride of Judah, and the high mind of Jerusalem.

For as straightly as a breech lieth upon a man's loins, so straightly did I bind the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah unto me, sayeth the LORD: that they might be my people; that they might have a glorious name; that they might be in honour. But they would not obey me.

The cities toward the south shall be shut up, and no man shall open them. All Judah shall be carried away captive, so that none shall remain.

"Judah shall mourn, men shall not go much more through his gates: the land shall be no more had in reputation, and the cry of Jerusalem shall break out.

"Hast thou then utterly forsaken Judah?" said I, "Doest thou so abhor Zion? Or hast thou so plagued us, that we can be healed no more? We looked for peace, and there cometh no good: for the time of health, and lo, here is nothing but trouble.

I will scatter them about also in all kingdoms and lands to be plagued, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for the things that he did in Jerusalem.

your sin, O ye of the tribe of Judah, is written in the table of your hearts, and graven so upon the edges of your altars with a pen of iron and with an adamant claw:

Again, thus hath the LORD said unto me, "Go stand under the gate, wherethrough the people and the kings of Judah go out and in; yea, under all the gates of Jerusalem,

and say unto them, 'Hear the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all thou people of Judah, and all ye citizens of Jerusalem, that go through this gate!

then shall there go through the gates of this city, kings and princes, that shall sit upon the stool of David: They shall be carried upon chariots, and ride upon horses, both they and their princes. Yea, whole Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem shall go herethrough, and this city shall ever be the more and more inhabited.

There shall come men also from the cities of Judah; from about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin; from the plain fields; from the mountains and from the wilderness; which shall bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, oblations, and incense, and offer up thanksgiving in the house of the LORD.

"Speak now therefore unto whole Judah, and to them that dwell at Jerusalem. Thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I am devising a plague for you, and am taking a thing in hand against you. Therefore let every man turn from his evil way, take upon you the thing that is good, and do right.

and say thus unto them: 'Hear the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and ye citizens of Jerusalem! Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring such a plague upon this place, that the ears of all that hear it, shall glow.

And that because they have forsaken me, and unhallowed this place, and have offered in it unto strange gods: whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known. They have filled this place also with the blood of innocents,

For in this place will I slay the Senators of Judah and Jerusalem, and kill them down with the sword in the sight of their enemies, and of them that seek their lives. And their dead carcasses will I give to be meat for the fowls of the air, and beasts of the field.

For the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah are defiled, like as Tophet, because of all the houses; in whose parlors they did sacrifice unto all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto strange gods.'"

For thus sayeth the LORD: behold, I will make thee afraid, thee thyself and all that favour thee: which shall perish with the sword of their enemies, even before thy face. And I will give whole Judah under the power of the king of Babylon, which shall carry some unto Babylon, prisoners, and slay some with the sword.

Moreover, all the substance of this land, all their precious and gorgeous works, all costliness, and all the treasure of the kings of Judah, will I give into the hands of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and carry them unto Babylon.

And after this, sayeth the LORD, I shall deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, his people - and such as are escaped in the city, from the pestilence, sword, and hunger - into the power of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: yea into the hands of their enemies; into the hands of those that follow upon their lives, which shall smite them with the sword. They shall not pity them, they shall not spare them, they shall have no mercy upon them.'

And unto the house of the king of Judah, say thus, 'Hear ye the word of the LORD,

Thus said the LORD also, "Go down in to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there these words,

and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, thou king of Judah that sittest in the kingly seat of David: thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in and out at this gate.

For thus hath the LORD spoken upon the king's house of Judah: Thou art the head, as Gilead is in Lebanon: What wilt thou lay of it, if I make thee and thy cities also not so waste that no man shall dwell therein?

For thus sayeth the LORD, as touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned after his father, and is carried out of this place, "He shall never come hither again,

And therefore, thus sayeth the LORD against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah, "They shall not mourn for him as they used to do, 'Alas brother, alas sister.' Neither shall they say unto him, 'Alas sir, alas for that noble prince.'

As truly as I live, sayeth the LORD, Though Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet of my right hand, yet will I pluck him off:

Write this man among the outlaws, for no prosperity shall this man have all his life long. Neither shall any of his seed be so happy as to sit upon the seat of David, and to bear rule in Judah."

In his time shall Judah be saved and Israel shall dwell without fear. And this is the name that they shall call him: even, 'The LORD our righteous maker.'

After that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had led away captive Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the mighty men also of Judah, with the workmasters, and cunning men of Jerusalem, unto Babylon. The LORD showed me a vision: Behold, there stood two mounds of figs before the Temple of the LORD.

And like as thou knowest the naughty figs, which may not be eaten they are so evil: Even so will I, sayeth the LORD, let Zedekiah the king of Judah - yea, and all his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem that remain over in this land, and them also that dwell in Egypt - to be vexed and plagued in all kingdoms and lands.

A sermon that was given unto Jeremiah, upon all the people of Judah: In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Which sermon Jeremiah the prophet made unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabiters of Jerusalem, on this manner.

"From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, unto this present day, that is even the twenty third year, the word of the LORD hath been committed unto me. And so I have spoken to you. I have risen up early, I have given you warning in season, but ye would not hear me.

But first the city of Jerusalem, and all the cities of Judah, their kings and princes: to make them desolate, waste, despised and cursed according as it is come to pass this day.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word from the LORD, saying,

"Thus sayeth the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all them which, out of the cities of Judah, come to do worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to say. Look that thou keep not one word back,

And when all the people were gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, the princes of Judah heard of this rumor, and they came soon out of the king's Palace into the house of the LORD, and sat them down before the new door of the LORD.

"Micah the Morasthite, which was a prophet under Hezekiah king of Judah, spake to all the people of Judah, 'Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall be a heap of stones, and the hill of the LORD's house shall be turned to a high wood.'

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah put him to death for this? No verily, but rather feared the LORD, and made their prayer unto him. For the which cause also the LORD repented of the plague, that he had devised against them. Should we then do such a shameful deed against our souls?"

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, which spake thus unto me,

and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon: and that by the messengers, which shall come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah the king of Judah,

All these things told I Zedekiah the king of Judah, and said, "Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, that ye may live.

But if they be true Prophets in very deed, and if the word of the LORD be committed unto them, then let them pray the LORD of Hosts that the remnant of the ornaments, which are in the house of the LORD, and remain yet in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem, be not carried to Babylon also.

which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took not, when he carried away Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the power of Judah and Jerusalem, from Jerusalem unto Babylon, captive.

Yea thus hath the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel spoken, as touching the residue of the ornaments of the LORD's house of the king of Judah's house, and of Jerusalem:

And this was done in the same year: even in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. But in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth Month, it happened, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet of Gibeon, spake to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, and said,

Yea, I will bring again Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah himself, with all the prisoners of Judah that are carried unto Babylon even into this place, sayeth the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon."

after the time that king Jechoniah, and his Queen, his chamberlains the princes of Judah and Jerusalem the workmasters of Jerusalem were departed thither.

Which letter Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah did bear, whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. These were the words of Jeremiah's letter:

And all the prisoners of Judah that are in Babylon, shall take upon them this term of cursing, and say, 'Now God do unto thee, as he did unto Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

For lo, the time cometh, sayeth the LORD, that I will bring again the prisoners of my people of Israel and Judah, sayeth the LORD: For I will restore them unto the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall have it in possession."

Again, these words spake the LORD, concerning Israel and Judah,

For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: It will come thereto, that when I have brought Judah out of captivity, these words shall be heard in the land and in his cities, 'The LORD, which is the fair bridegroom of righteousness, make thee fruitful O thou holy hill!'

And there shall dwell Judah, and all her cities, the shepherds and husbandmen:

"Behold, sayeth the LORD, the days come, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with men and with cattle.

Behold, the days come, sayeth the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

These words spake the LORD unto Jeremiah, in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,

what time as the king of Babylon's Host laid siege unto Jerusalem. But Jeremiah the prophet lay bound in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house:

where Zedekiah the king of Judah caused him to be laid, because he had prophesied of this manner, "Thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, which shall take it.

As for Zedekiah the king of Judah, he shall not be able to escape the Chaldeans, but surely he shall come into the hands of the king of Babylon: which shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and one of them shall look another in the face.

For seeing the children of Israel, and the children of Judah have wrought wickedness before me ever from their youth up, what have they else done, but provoked me with the works of their own hands, sayeth the LORD?

because of the great blasphemies of the children of Israel and Judah, which they have done to provoke me: yea they, their kings, their princes, their Priests, their Prophets, whole Judah, and all the citizens of Jerusalem.

They have builded high places for Baal in the valley of the children of Hinnom, to cause their sons and daughters to pass through fire in honor of Moloch: which I never commanded them, neither came it ever in my thought, to make Judah sin with such abomination.

Yea, land shall be bought for money, and evidences made thereupon and sealed before witnesses in the country of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem: in the cities of Judah; in the cities that are upon the mountains; and in them that lie beneath; yea, and in the cities that are in the desert. For I will bring their prisoners hither again, sayeth the LORD.'"

Thus, I say, spake the LORD God of Israel, "Concerning the houses of this city, and the houses of the kings of Judah: they shall be broken through the ordinance and weapons,

And I will return the captivity of Judah and Israel: and will set them up again as they were afore.

"Moreover thus sayeth the LORD: In this place, whereof ye say that it shall be a wilderness, wherein neither people nor cattle shall dwell: in like manner in the cities of Judah and without Jerusalem - which also shall be so void, that neither people nor cattle shall dwell there -

in the cities upon the mountains; and in the cities that lie upon the plain and in the desert. In the land of Benjamin, in the fields of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah shall the sheep be numbered again, under the hand of him that telleth them, sayeth the LORD.

Behold, the time cometh, sayeth the LORD, that I will perform the good thing, which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

And in his days Judah shall be safe, and Israel shall dwell without fear. And this is the name that they shall call him: 'The LORD our righteousness.'