The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Again there will be in this waste place, {without} people and animals, and in all its towns, pasture for shepherds allowing [their] flock to lie down.

Behold, the days coming, says Jehovah, and I raised up the good word which I spake to the house of Israel and for the house of Judah.

In those days and in that time I will make a branch of righteousness sprout for David, and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land.

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.'

For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

And for the priests, a man from the Levites [who] offers burnt offerings and [who] burns grain offerings and [who] brings sacrifices will not be cut off {before me} {forever}.'"

The Lord has said: If it is possible for my agreement of the day and the night to be broken, so that day and night no longer come at their fixed times,

As it is not possible for the army of heaven to be numbered, or the sand of the sea measured, so will I make the seed of my servant David, and the Levites my servants.

Have you taken note of what these people have said, The two families, which the Lord took for himself, he has given up? This they say, looking down on my people as being, in their eyes, no longer a nation.

This is what the LORD says: "If I had not established my covenant for day and night and the laws that govern the heavens and earth,

Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

and thou, thou dost not escape out of his hand, for thou art certainly caught, and into his hand thou art given, and thine eyes see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth with thy mouth speaketh, and Babylon thou enterest.

But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made an agreement with all the people in Jerusalem, to give news in public that servants were to be made free;

That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

For this reason the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

"The Lord God of Israel has a message for you. 'I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated,

At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me at the temple called by My name.

But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

As for those who disobeyed My covenant, not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.

I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

As for Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes, I will deliver them into the power of their enemies, and of them that desire to slay them, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's host, which now is departed from you.

Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

and a house ye do not build, and seed ye do not sow, and a vineyard ye do not plant, nor have ye any; for in tents do ye dwell all your days, that ye may live many days on the face of the ground whither ye are sojourning.

And we will hear to the voice of Jonadab son of Rechab our father, for all which he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters;

Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

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

For the descendants of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have carried out the command of their ancestor that he commanded them, but this people did not listen to me."

For this reason the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, I will send on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem all the evil which I said I would do to them: because I sent my words to them, but they did not give ear; crying out to them, but they gave no answer.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

“Take a scroll [of parchment] and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and Judah, and all the nations, from the day I [first] spoke to you in the days of [King] Josiah until this day.

It may be that the people of Judah, hearing of all the evil which it is my purpose to do to them, will be turned, every man from his evil ways; so that they may have my forgiveness for their evil-doing and their sin.

Then Jeremiah sent for Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch took down from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had said to him, writing them in a book.

It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.

And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.

he went down to the king's palace into the Scribe's chamber, for there all the princes were set: Elishama the Scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, with all the princes.

Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.

And they went to the king, [to the] courtyard, and they {put} the scroll for safe-keeping in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words in the hearing of the king.

Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.

And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.

But they had no fear and gave no signs of grief, not the king or any of his servants, after hearing all these words.

"{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 says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, "There will not be for him [one who] sits on the throne of David. And his dead body will be thrown out to the heat in the day and to the frost in the night.

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

Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king in the land of Judah in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king.

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

Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for them. He told him to tell them,

Thus saith the LORD, 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.

And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should 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,

But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!"

Wherefore 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.

So Jeremiah came into the hole of the prison, under the arches, and was there for a long time.

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

And now be pleased to give ear, O my lord the king; let my prayer for help come before you, and do not make me go back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, for fear that I may come to my death there.

Then Zedekiah the king commanded to put Jeremiah in the fore entry of the prison, and daily to be given him a cake of bread of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was eaten up. Thus Jeremiah remained in the fore entry of the prison.

Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth 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; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

For thus sayeth the LORD: This city, no doubt, must be delivered into the power of the king of Babylon, and he also shall win it."

Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus 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.

Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that dwelt in the fore entry of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords into a dungeon, where there was no water, but mire.

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.

So they drew up Jeremiah with cords and took him out of the dungeon, and he remained in the fore entry of the prison.

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, 'Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.'

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am troubled on account of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldaeans, for fear that they may give me up to them and they will put me to shame.

And Jeremiah saith, 'They do not give thee up; hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah, to that which I am speaking unto thee, and it is well for thee, and thy soul doth live.

Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall go out to the king of Babylon's princes. For they think, that thou art deceived: and that the men in whom thou didst put thy trust, have gotten thee under, and set thy feet fast in the mire, and gone their way from thee.

So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

So Jeremiah abode still in the fore entry of the prison, until the day that Jerusalem was won.

Now when the city of Jerusalem was taken - for in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth Month, came Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his Host, and besieged Jerusalem,

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king's garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.

And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.

As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had gone over to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon.

“Take him, look after him, and don’t let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”

So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, Nebushazban, the high official, Nergal-sar-ezer, the chief official, and all the officials of the king of Babylon sent for Jeremiah.

They sent for Jeremiah and took him from the courtyard of the guard. They handed him over to Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home. So he remained among the people.

Now while Jeremiah lay yet bound in the fore entry of the prison, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

But I will rescue you on that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and you will not be handed over to the men you fear.

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him; for he had been put in chains, among all the prisoners of Jerusalem and Judah who were taken away prisoners to Babylon.