The Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am too young.' But go to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

"But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them.

"Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: 'This is what the Lord says: "I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians? What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help from the Assyrians?

Why do you constantly go about changing your political allegiances? You will get no help from Egypt just as you got no help from Assyria.

"Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, 'Come back to me, wayward Israel,' says the Lord. 'I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,' says the Lord. 'I will not be angry with you forever.

"If you, Israel, want to come back," says the Lord, "if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray.

Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction.

The Lord said, "Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and see for yourselves. Search through its public squares. See if any of you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. If you can, then I will not punish this city.

I will go to the leaders and speak with them. Surely they know what the Lord demands. Surely they know what their God requires of them." Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority and refuse to submit to him.

So come on, let's go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.'

This is what the Lord who rules over all said to me: "Those who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine. So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester passing your hand over the branches one last time."

Do not go out into the countryside. Do not travel on the roads. For the enemy is there with sword in hand. They are spreading terror everywhere."

I reported, "All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly.

Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, "We are safe!" You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins!

So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped in the early days. See what I did to it because of the wicked things my people Israel did.

The Lord said to the people of Judah, "The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: 'You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too!

I also explicitly commanded them: "Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you."

However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived," says the Lord who rules over all.

The Lord said to me, "Tell them, 'The Lord says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?

My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay.

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

The Lord said to me, "Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water."

"Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks."

Many days later the Lord said to me, "Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there."

The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. No one will be able to go in or out of them. All Judah will be carried off into exile. They will be completely carried off into exile.'"

The leading men of the cities send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there. They return with their containers empty. Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.

Then the Lord spoke about these people. "They truly love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done and punish them for their sins."

If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.'"

Then the Lord said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!

If they ask you, 'Where should we go?' tell them the Lord says this: "Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile."

The mother who had seven children will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. She will suffer shame and humiliation. I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies," says the Lord.

"Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: 'Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it!

"'Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either.

The Lord told me, "Go and stand in the People's Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem.

"Go down at once to the potter's house. I will speak to you further there."

The Lord told Jeremiah, "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take with you some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests.

Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Announce there what I tell you.

You, Pashhur, and all your household will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'"

The Lord told me, "Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there.

People of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning. Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly. Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab. For your allies have all been defeated.

My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! Your allies will go into captivity. Then you will certainly be disgraced and put to shame because of all the wickedness you have done.

Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Israel will live in security. This is the name he will go by: 'The Lord has provided us with justice.'

They continually say to those who reject what the Lord has said, 'Things will go well for you!' They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts, 'Nothing bad will happen to you!'

How long will they go on plotting to make my people forget who I am through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal.

Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the Lord, affirm it!

For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. So how can you possibly avoid being punished? You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, affirm it!'

The Lord said, "Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord's temple. Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord's temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!

Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!"'"

"Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, 'You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one!

For I, the Lord, affirm that I will be with you and will rescue you. I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished."

But all who destroyed you will be destroyed. All your enemies will go into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered. I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged.

Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim, "Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the Lord our God!"'"

The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah.

The defenders of the city will go out and fight with the Babylonians. But they will only fill those houses and buildings with the dead bodies of the people that I will kill in my anger and my wrath. That will happen because I have decided to turn my back on this city on account of the wicked things they have done.

The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah to tell him, "The Lord says, 'I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down.

You yourself will not escape his clutches, but will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You must confront the king of Babylon face to face and answer to him personally. Then you must go to Babylon.

"Go to the Rechabite community. Invite them to come into one of the side rooms of the Lord's temple and offer them some wine to drink."

But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, 'Let's get up and go to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem."

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all told him, "Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, 'I, the Lord, say: "You must learn a lesson from this about obeying what I say!

Then Jeremiah told Baruch, "I am no longer allowed to go into the Lord's temple.

So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast in the Lord's temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll.

Then the officials said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are."

(Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased.

"The Lord God of Israel says, 'Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. Tell him, "The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt.

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away.

Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there.

Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: "Take thirty men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies."

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.

"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 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."

Before Jeremiah could turn to leave, the captain of the guard added, "Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern the towns of Judah. Go back and live with him among the people. Or go wherever else you choose." Then the captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go.

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."

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."

They set out to go to Egypt to get away from the Babylonians, but stopped at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem.

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

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."

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.'

If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'If you are so determined to go to Egypt that you go and settle 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.'

"The Lord has told you people who remain in Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be very sure of this: I warn you here and now.

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."

Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and other arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! The Lord our God did not send you to tell us, 'You must not go to Egypt and settle there.'

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.

Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go."'"

Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow.

Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, you dear poor people of Egypt. But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; there will be no healing for you.

I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say, 'Get up! Let's go back to our own people. Let's go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.'

Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.

I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servant, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished."

How long will you cry out, 'Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!'

Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith, weeping continually as they go. For on the road down to Horonaim they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction.

"Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials.

Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab. Go and live in the cliffs. Be like a dove that makes its nest high on the sides of a ravine.

Wail, you people in Heshbon, because Ai in Ammon is destroyed. Cry out in anguish, you people in the villages surrounding Rabbah. Put on sackcloth and cry out in mourning. Run about covered with gashes. For your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and officials.

For the Lord says, "If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath.

The Lord spoke about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered. "Army of Babylon, go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert.