So you must go and you shall read aloud from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of Yahweh in the hearing of the people [in] the temple of Yahweh on a day of fast, and also you shall read aloud in the hearing of all those of Judah who came from their towns.

Perhaps their plea will fall {before} Yahweh and each one will turn away from his evil way, for great [is] the anger and wrath that Yahweh pronounced against this people."

And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, to read aloud from the scroll the words of Yahweh [in] the temple of Yahweh.

Now it came to pass 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 that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah.

At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord. He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary. That room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate. There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said.

And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard at the reading aloud of Baruch from the scroll in the hearing of the people.

Then all the officials sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, {saying}, "The scroll that you read aloud from in the hearing of the people, take it in your hand and come." And Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and he came to them.

And they said unto him, "Sit down, and read the book that we may hear also." So Baruch read, that they might hear.

Now it came about that, after hearing all the words, they said to one another in fear, We will certainly give the king an account of all these words.

And the princes said unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; that none may know where ye are.

And they went in to the king to the court. but they kept the book in the chamber of Elishama the Scribe, and told the king all the words that he might hear.

So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes that stood beside the king.

{And then}, as Jehudi read three or four columns, he would cut it up in pieces with the knife of the scribe, and he would throw [it] into the fire that [was] in the fire-pot until the whole of the scroll [was] consumed in the fire that was in the fire-pot.

And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.

Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll; but he would not hear them.

And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll and the words that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, {saying},

"{Take again} for yourself another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, has burned.

And about Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, This is what the Lord has said: You have put this book into the fire, saying, Why have you put in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come, causing the destruction of this land and putting an end to every man and beast in it?

Therefore thus the LORD sayeth, of Jehoiakim the king of Judah: There shall none of his generation sit upon the throne of David. His dead corpse shall be cast out, that the heat of the day and the frost of the night may come upon him.

And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they hearkened not.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the secretary, and he wrote on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned in the fire, and furthermore was added to them many words like these.

But he and his servants and the people of the land did not listen to the words of Yahweh that he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

Now Jeremiah walked free among the people at that time, and was not put in prison as yet.

And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that were besieging Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they brake up from Jerusalem.

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

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.

For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yea would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

And it came to pass that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

that Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to have his portion there among the people.

And so it came to pass he being in the gate of Benjamin and there being there a ward-master whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah, that he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Unto the Chaldeans, art thou falling away!

And Jeremiah said, "[That is] a lie! I [am] not deserting to the Chaldeans." But he would not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.

For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

Then Zedekiah the king sent for him and called him, and asked him quietly in his own house, saying, "Thinkest thou this business, that now is in hand, cometh of the LORD?" Jeremiah answered, "Yea, that it doth: and thou, said he, shalt be delivered in to the king of Babylon's power."

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What did I do wrong to you, or to your servants, or to this people, that you have put me in {prison}?

Where now are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

Now then, my lord the king, please let my plea fall {before you}. You must not send me back [to] the house of Jonathan the secretary, so that I will not die there."

Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah [was] saying to all the people, {saying},

Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.

Then the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you.

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

When Ebed-melech the Cushite, {a eunuch} who [was] in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit--now the king [was] sitting at the Gate of Benjamin--

"My lord the king, these men have done evil [in] all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, [in] that they have thrown [him] into the pit, and he will die {there} {because of} starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city."

And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to [the] third entrance that [was] at the {temple} of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I [am] asking you {something}, you must not hide {anything} from me."

So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, "Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: If cause be, that thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, thou shalt save thy life, and this city shall not be burnt, yea both thou and thy household shall escape with your lives.

And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.

But if you [are] refusing to surrender, this [is] the thing that Yahweh has shown me.

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.

And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "No man must know about these words so that you will not die.

And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, 'Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal [it] from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?'

then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

And all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he informed them like all these words that the king commanded. So they fell silent, for the {conversation} was not heard.

And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard until [the] day that Jerusalem was captured. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.

And it came about, that when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, with all his army, came against Jerusalem, shutting it in on every side;

It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year. On that day they broke through the city walls.

that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, to wit , Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.

And it came to pass that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate betwixt the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.

But the Chaldeans' Host followed fast after them, and took Zedekiah in the field of Jericho, and brought him prisoner to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon unto Riblah, that lieth in the land of Hamath where he gave judgment upon him.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the residue of the people that remained in the city, the deserters also that fell away to him, and the residue of the people that remained.

And some of the poor people, {who had nothing}, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.

"Take him and set your eyes on him. And you must not do something bad to him, {but only} that which he speaks to you, so do with him."

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

"Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] about to bring my words to pass against this city for evil and not for good. And they will be {before you} on that day.

But I will deliver thee in that day, Declareth Yahweh, - and thou shalt not be given up into the hand of the men from the face of whom, thou, mightest shrink with fear.

Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

The thing that happened unto Jeremiah, from Yahweh, after Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners had let him go from Ramah, - when he had taken him, he having been bound in fetters in the midst of all the captive-host of Jerusalem, and Judah, who were being carried away captive to Babylon.

*** and the Lord has made it come, and has done as he said; because of your sin against the Lord in not giving ear to his voice; and that is why this thing has come on you.

And so then look, I have released you {today} from the chains that [were] on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me [to] Babylon, [then] come, and {I will take care of you}. But if it is bad in your eyes to come with me [to] Babylon, [then] refrain. Look, the whole land [is] {before you}. To [wherever it is] good and right in your eyes to go, [then] go there."

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

Now, when all the captains of the forces which were in the field - they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had set Gedaliah son of Ahikam in charge over the land, - and that he had committed to him men and women and children, and the poor of the land of those who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,

Then Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan swats unto them, and to their men saying, Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans, - dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon that it may be well with you.

{As for me}, look, I [am] staying at Mizpah to represent [you] {before} the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, and put [them] in your vessels, and live in your towns that you have seized."

Likewise also, all the Jews, who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in any of the lands, when they heard that the king of Babylon had granted a remnant to Judah, and that he had set in charge over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan,

then all the Judeans returned from all the places [to] which they were scattered. And they came [to] the land of Judah, to Gedaliah [at] Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit that yielded {in great abundance}.

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

and said unto him - Dost thou at all know, that, Baalis, king of the sons of Ammon, hath sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah, to smite thee to death? But Gedaliah son of Ahikam, believed them not.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secrecy at Mizpah, {saying}, "Please let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and {nobody} will know. Why should he kill you, so that all of Judah who are gathered to you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish?"

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama of the seed royal and chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, came in, unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, - and they did there eat bread together in Mizpah.

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

Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, to wit , with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, the men of war.

The next day after that he had slain Gedaliah - the matter was yet unknown -

that men came in from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, - eighty men, with beards shaven and clothes rent who also had cut themselves, with a meal-offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring them into the house of Yahweh.

Then went forth Ishmael son of Nethaniah to meet them out of Mizpah, weeping all along as he went, - and it came to pass when he fell in with them, that he said unto them, Come ye in unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam.

And so it was when they had come into the midst of the city, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah slew them and east them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him.

But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

Now the pit [into] which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed {along with} Gedaliah [was the same one] that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, [who was] against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled [it with] the slain ones.

Then did Ishmael take captive all the remnant of the people that was in Mizpah, - the daughters of the king, and all the people that were left remaining in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners had committed unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, - yea Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive, and departed to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

When Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, heard all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

then they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. And they met him at [the] great pool that [is] in Gibeon.

{And then}, the moment that all the people who [were] with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, they were glad.

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

Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that 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 slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to wit , the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon:

and they departed, and dwelt in the khan of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, - that they might go to enter Egypt;

of whom they were afraid, because that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah Ahikam's son, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us,