{Because} he has sent to us [in] Babylon, {saying}, 'It [will be] a long time, build houses and live [in them], and plant gardens and eat their fruit.'" '"

Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon [was] laying siege to Jerusalem and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard that [was in] the palace of the king of Judah,

where Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had confined him, {saying}, "Why [are] you prophesying, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I [am] going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it,

and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but surely he will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and {he will speak face to face with him} and {he will see him eye to eye},

and [to] Babylon he will bring Zedekiah, and there he will be until my attending to him," {declares} Yahweh. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not be successful" '?"

{Therefore} thus says Yahweh: "Look, I [am] going to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

"So now {therefore}, thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city, [of] which you [are] saying, 'It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague':

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army, with all [the] kingdoms of [the] earth [under] the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples [were] fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, {saying},

"Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: 'Go and say to Zedekiah the king of Judah, now you must say to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Look, I [am] going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.

when the army of the king of Babylon [was] fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left over--Lachish and Azekah, for these remained among the cities of Judah, the cities of fortification.

And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, who retreated from you.

{But then} at the coming up against the land of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, then we said, 'Come and let us go [to] Jerusalem {before} the army of the Chaldeans, and {before} the army of the Arameans.' That is why we are living in Jerusalem."

And concerning Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, you shall say, 'Thus says Yahweh, "You have burned this scroll, {saying}, 'Why have you written in it, {saying}, "The king of Babylon will certainly come and he will destroy this land, and he will cause to disappear from it humankind and animals"?'"

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

But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia.

And thus [in the matter of] the envoys of the commanders of Babylon who had been sent to him to seek the sign that had happened in the land, God forsook him, to test him [and] to know all [that was] in his heart.

So Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria upon them, and they took Manasseh captive with hooks, and they bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with objects of the treasure of the house of Yahweh. And he made Zedekiah his brother king in Judah and Jerusalem.

And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, the storehouses of the house of Yahweh, and the storehouses of the king and his princes, these all he brought to Babylon.

And he took {those who escaped the sword} to Babylon. And they became servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

Now these were the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exile whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his [own] city.

Then King Zedekiah sent and fetched him. And the king questioned him in secrecy in his house, and he said, "Is there a word from Yahweh?" And Jeremiah said, "There is." And he said, "You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon."

And where [are] your prophets who prophesied to you, {saying}, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'?

Thus says Yahweh, 'Surely this city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.'"

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then {you} will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house.

But if you [do] not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.'"

Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah [are] being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, [they are] saying, '{Your trusted friends} have misled you, and they have prevailed against you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, [so] they turned backward.'

And all your wives and your children [will be] led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire."

In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it.

But the army of [the] Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon [at] Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced {sentence} on him.

Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and tied him up with bronze fetters to bring him [to] Babylon.

Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, deported [to] Babylon.

And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah {through} Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, {saying},

So Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, sent [word], {along with} Nebushazban [the] chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer [the] high official, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon.

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, had let him go from Ramah, {where he had been taken} bound in chains in the midst of all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being deported [to] Babylon.

While he still had not turned back, [Nebuzaradan] added, "Return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed [in an official position] over the towns of Judah, and stay with him in the midst of the people. Or to [wherever it is] right in your eyes to go, [then] go [there]." Then [the] captain of [the] guard gave him an allowance of provisions and a present, and let him go.

And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, {saying}, "You must not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.

And also all the Judeans who [were] in Moab, and among the {Ammonites}, and in Edom, and who [were] in all the lands, [when] they heard that the king of Babylon had given a remnant to Judah and that he had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, [in an official position] over them,

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, {along with} the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

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 had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

You must not be afraid {of} the king of Babylon whom you [are] {afraid of}. You must not be afraid of him,' {declares} Yahweh, 'for I [am] with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.

But Baruch the son of Neriah [is] inciting you against us in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us and to deport us [to] Babylon."

and say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] going to send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread out his canopy over them.

Thus says Yahweh: 'Look, I [am] going to give Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, his enemy and the one who sought his life.'"

Concerning Egypt: Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah.

The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt:

And I will give them into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his troops. But {afterward} it will [be] inhabited, as [in] days of old," {declares} Yahweh.

During all of this, I was not in Jerusalem because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. At the end of [some] days I asked permission from the king [to leave].

These are the people of the province who came up from captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each one to his city.

Concerning Kedar and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon defeated. Thus says Yahweh: "Rise up, go up against Kedar and destroy [the] people of [the] east.

Flee! Wander far away! {Get down low}! O inhabitants of Hazor," {declares} Yahweh. "For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has planned a plan against you. And he has schemed a scheme against you.

The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of [the] Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:

"Declare among the nations and proclaim, and lift up a banner. Proclaim, you must not conceal [it]. Say, 'Babylon is captured, Bel is ashamed, Merodach is filled with terror, her idols are ashamed, her idols are filled with terror.

Flee from the midst of Babylon, and from the land of [the] Chaldeans. Go out and be like he-goats {before} [the] flock.

For look, I [am] going to stir up, and I [am] going to bring against Babylon a contingent of great nations from [the] land of [the] north. And they will draw up a battle formation against her, from there she will be captured. Their arrows [are] like a warrior [who has] achieved success, he does not return without success.

Because of the anger of Yahweh she will not be inhabited, but she will be a wasteland, all of her. Everyone [who] passes by Babylon will be appalled and will hiss because of all her wounds.

Draw up a battle formation at Babylon all around, all those who bend [the] bow, shoot at her. You must not spare arrows, for she has sinned against Yahweh.

Cut off [the] sower from Babylon, and [the] one who uses [the] sickle in [the] time of harvest. {Because of} the sword of the oppressor each one will turn to their people, and each one will flee to their land.

Israel [is] a sheep scattered, lions drove [them] away. [The] first who devoured it [was] the king of Assyria, and now [at] the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones."

{Therefore} thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Look, I [am] going to punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.

I laid a bird snare for you, and you were caught, Babylon. But you yourself [did] not know. You were discovered and seized, because with Yahweh you measured yourself.

[There is the] sound of fugitives and survivors from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance for his temple.

Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend [the] bow. Encamp all around her, there must not be for her an escape. Take revenge on her according to her deeds. According to all that she has done, [so] do to her. For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently, against the Holy One of Israel.

Their redeemer [is] strong, his name [is] Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace [for] the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

A sword against [the] Chaldeans," {declares} Yahweh, "and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials, and against her wise men.

They keep hold of bow and short sword. They [are] cruel and they have no mercy. Their sound [is] like the sea, it roars, and upon horses they ride. Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle, against you, O daughter of Babylon.

The king of Babylon heard their report and his hands grew slack. Anxiety has seized him, fear and pain like the [woman who] gives birth.

{Therefore} hear the plan of Yahweh that he has planned against Babylon, and his plans that he has planned against the land of [the] Chaldeans. {Surely} they will drag them away, the little [ones] of the flock. {Surely} he will cause [their] grazing place to be desolate over them.

At [the] sound, 'Babylon has been captured,' the earth will quake, and a cry for help among the nations will be heard."

Thus says Yahweh: "Look, I [am] going to stir up against Babylon and against the inhabitants of Leb-qamai a destructive wind.

And I will send winnowers to Babylon, and they will winnow her, and they will lay waste her land, for they will be against her from all sides on [the] day of disaster.

Flee from the midst of Babylon and save each one his life. You must not perish because of her guilt. For this [is the] time of vengeance for Yahweh, he [will] repay her what is deserved.

Babylon [was] a cup of gold in the hand of Yahweh, making drunk all the earth. [The] nations drank of her wine. {Therefore} [the] nations acted like madmen.

Suddenly Babylon has fallen and she is shattered. Wail over her! Take balm for her wounds, perhaps she may be healed.

We tried to heal Babylon, and she was not healed. Forsake her and let us go each one to his country, for her judgment has reached to the heavens, and it has been lifted up to [the] skies.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. Because his plan concerning Babylon [is] to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance for his temple.

And I will repay Babylon, and all the inhabitants of Chaldea, all their wickedness that they have done in Zion before your eyes," {declares} Yahweh.

The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight, they remain in the strongholds, their power has dried up, they have become as women. Her dwelling places are set on fire, her bars are broken.

[one] runner runs to meet [another] runner, and [one] messenger to meet [another] messenger, to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured, {from end to end}.

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshing floor [at the] time it [is] trodden down, {just a little while} and the time of the harvest will come for her."

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me [and] sucked me dry; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like the sea monster; he has filled his belly with my delicacies; he has rinsed me.

"[May] the violence done to me and to my flesh [be] on Babylon," the inhabitants of Zion will say; and "My blood [be] upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say.

And Babylon will become as a heap of stones, a lair of jackals, [an object of] horror, and [an object of] hissing, {without} inhabitants.

How Sheshach is captured, and the glory of all the earth is seized! How Babylon has become as an [object of] horror among the nations!

The sea has risen over Babylon, she has been covered by the roar of its waves.

{therefore} look, days [are] coming, and I will punish the images of Babylon, and all her land will be put to shame, and all her slain ones will fall in the midst of her.

Then [the] heaven and [the] earth and all that [is] in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for from [the] north the destroyers will come to it," {declares} Yahweh.

Though Babylon goes up [to] the heavens, and though she fortifies the high place of her strength, from me destroyers will come to her," {declares} Yahweh.

[The] sound of a cry for help from Babylon, and a great collapse from the land of [the] Chaldeans.

For Yahweh [is] devastating Babylon, and he obliterates [her] loud noise from her. Their waves roar like mighty waters, the roar of their voices resounds.

For a destroyer [is] coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors are captured. Their bows are broken; for Yahweh [is] a God of recompense, certainly he will repay.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished, and her high gates will burn with fire, and [the] peoples will labor {for nothing}, and [the] nations {for fire}, and they will grow weary."

The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, at his going with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, [to] Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah [was the] {quartermaster}.

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "At your coming [to] Babylon, then you must see [that] you read aloud all these words.

And you must say, 'Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, {because of} the face of the disasters that I [am] bringing on her, and they will grow weary.'" {Thus far} the words of Jeremiah.

For because of the {anger} of Yahweh this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until his casting them from his {presence}. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

{And then} in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came against Jerusalem, he and all his army. And they laid siege to it, and built siege works against it all around.

Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon [at] Riblah in the land of Hamath, and {he passed sentence on him}.

And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.

who was deported from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.