The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

They shall eat up your harvest, and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds. They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees. They shall beat down your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.

Therefore thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people. The fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.'

"Daughter of my people, clothe yourself with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes. Mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us."

They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

Therefore behold, the days come," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, until there is no place to bury.

therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;

I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, says the LORD. I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them."'"

The people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them?them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness on them."

I will cause them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

"You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.

For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land:

and go forth to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell you;

and have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt offerings to Baal; which I did not command, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind:

therefore, behold, the days come," says the LORD, "that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter.

I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies, and those who seek their life, shall distress them."'

Now Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,

For thus says the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went forth out of this place: "He shall not return there any more.

Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "they shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah my brother. or, Ah sister.' They shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah lord.' or, 'Ah his glory.'

As I live," says the LORD, "though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, yet would I pluck you there;

The LORD showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs set before the LORD's temple, after that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

"From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened.

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

"There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.

And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt;

But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

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

All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.

which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

It happened the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went to Babylon,' says the LORD; 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying,

Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and do not be diminished.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes;

'Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, "Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him," says the LORD.

'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, "Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it."'

So Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, "Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.

Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,

great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through fire to Molech; which I did not command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.'

then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites.

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hananiah son of Gedaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the officials, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.

I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine."

But they said, "We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever:

We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;

"The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father's commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.

Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;

therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.'"

It happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll.

Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD's house.

Now it happened in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the LORD.

Then Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house, in the ears of all the people.

When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard from the scroll all the words of the LORD,

he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's room: and behold, all the officials were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials.

Therefore all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.

The king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the LORD hid them.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides to them many like words.

Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to the LORD our God for us."

When he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are falling away to the Chaldeans."

Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon killed all the nobles of Judah.

they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he lived among the people.

Now while he had not yet gone back, "Go back then," he said, "to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wherever it seems right to you to go." So the captain of the guard gave him food and a present, and let him go.

Then went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.

Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, and women, and children, and of the poorest of the land, of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon;

then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;

Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,

and said to him, "Do you know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, "Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: why should he take your life, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?"

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael."

Now it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah.

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it happened, as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam."

It was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men who were with him.

Now the pit in which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had killed, by the side of Gedaliah (the same was who which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel), Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were killed.

Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people who were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of Ammon.

But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

Now it happened that, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, then they were glad.

So all the people who Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.

Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon:

because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.

Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,

Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,