{And when} he [was] at the Gate of Benjamin, there [was] {a sentry on duty} whose name [was] Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, {saying}, "You [are] deserting to the Chaldeans!"

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

Then the officials said to the king, "Please, this man must be killed, {because} he [is] making slack the hands of {the soldiers} who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking to them words like these, for this man [is] not seeking for welfare to this people, {but only} for harm."

So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, {saying}, "{As Yahweh lives}, who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

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

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.'

But I will rescue you on that day," {declares} Yahweh, "and you will not be given into the hand of the men {of whom you are frightened}.

and said to him, "{Are you at all aware} that Baalis, the king of the {Ammonites}, has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them.

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 the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You must not do this thing, for you [are] telling a lie about Ishmael."

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "May our plea please fall {before you}, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, for all this remnant, for we are left [but] a few of many, as your eyes [are] seeing us.

Whether good or bad, we will listen to the voice of Yahweh our God, [to] whom we [are] sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of Yahweh our God."

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 if you [are] saying, "We will not stay in this land," [so as to] not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God,

then {therefore} hear the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "{If you are determined} to go [to] Egypt, and you go to dwell as aliens there,

then it will be [that] the sword that you [are] in fear of will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine that you [are] anxious of will pursue after you there [into] Egypt, and there you will die.

So all the people who {are determined} to go [to] Egypt to dwell as aliens there will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague, and there will not be for them an escapee or a survivor from the disaster that I [am] bringing upon them."

Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the insolent men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, "You [are] telling a lie! Yahweh our God did not send you, {saying}, 'You must not go [to] Egypt to dwell as aliens there.'

And he will come and ravage the land of Egypt, [and deliver those] who [are appointed] for the plague, to the plague, and [those] who [are appointed] for the captivity, to the captivity, and [those] who [are appointed] for the sword, to the sword.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the towns of Judah. And look, they [are] a site of ruins this day, and there is not in them an inhabitant,

So my wrath and my anger were poured out and burned in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became as a site of ruins, as a desolation, as [they are] this day.'

So then, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Why [are] you doing great harm to {yourselves}, to cut off for yourselves man and woman, child and suckling, from the midst of Judah, to not leave over for yourselves a remnant,

provoking me to anger with the works of your hands, to make smoke offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you [have] come to dwell as aliens, so as to cut off yourselves, and so that you are becoming as a curse, and as a disgrace among all the nations of the earth?

And I will take [away] the remnant of Judah {who are determined} to come [to] the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there, and everyone will perish. They will fall in the land of Egypt by the sword; they will perish by the famine, from [the] smallest to [the] greatest. By the sword and by the famine they will die and become as a curse, as a horror, and as a curse, and as a disgrace.

And there will not be a survivor or an escapee of the remnant of Judah, those who have come to dwell as an alien there in the land of Egypt, to return [to] the land of Judah where they [are] {longing} to return to dwell there, for they will not turn back, {but only} [some] survivors.'"

"[Concerning] the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we [are] not going to listen to you!

Then Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, "Hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who [are] in the land of Egypt.

Look, I [am] going to watch over them for harm and not for good, and all people of Judah who [are] in the land of Egypt will perish by the sword and by the famine until their perishing.

Why do I see them terrified? [They are] turning back and their warriors are beaten down. And they have fled [to] a place of refuge and they do not turn [back]. Terror [is] from all around," {declares} Yahweh.

Why are your bulls defeated? He did not stand because Yahweh thrust him down.

Even her mercenaries in her midst [are] like calves of fattening, for they also have turned away, they have fled together. They stand not, for the day of their calamity has come, the time of their punishment.

They will cut down her forest," {declares} Yahweh, "for {it is impenetrable}. Yes, they are more numerous than locusts, and {they are without number}.

Thus says Yahweh: "Look, waters [are] rising from [the] north, and they will become as a raging torrent, and they will overflow [the] land, and that which fills it, [the] city and those who live in it. And the people will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail,

{Therefore} look, days [are] coming," {declares} Yahweh, "and I will send to him {decanters}, and they will decant him, and his vessels they will empty out, and their jars they will smash.

How can you say, 'we [are] warriors, and men of might for the battle.'

I know his insolence," {declares} Yahweh, "and his boastings [are] {false}; they act {falsely}.

Dread, and pit, and a trapping net [are] against you, O inhabitant of Moab," {declares} Yahweh.

Concerning the {Ammonites}: Thus says Yahweh, "Are there no sons for Israel? Or is there no heir for him? Why has Milcom taken possession of Gad, and his people dwelled in its towns?

{Therefore} look, days [are] coming," {declares} Yahweh, "and I will sound against Rabbah, the {Ammonites}, [the] alarm of [the] war, and it will become as a mound of desolation, and its daughters will burn in the fire. Then Israel will dispossess his dispossessors," says Yahweh.

Why do you boast in [your] valleys? Your valleys [are] ebbing. O unfaithful daughter, who trusted in her treasures, [who said], 'Who will come against me?'

But I have stripped Esau bare. I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to hide himself. His offspring are devastated, {along with} his brothers, and his neighbors, and {he is no more}.

For thus says Yahweh, "Look, those {who are not condemned} to drink the cup must certainly drink [it]. And [are] you the one who will go entirely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must certainly drink [it].

Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are ashamed, for they have heard bad news; they melt. [There is] concern in the sea. It is not able to keep quiet.

Rise up, go up against a nation [which is] at ease, living {securely}," {declares} Yahweh. "[There are] no gates and [there are] no bars for them, they dwell alone.

And their camels will become as plunder, and the multitude of their livestock as spoil. And I will scatter to every wind [those who] are trimmed to [the] side, and from {every side} I will bring their disaster," {declares} Yahweh.

"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.

All [those who] found them have devoured them. And their foes have said, 'We are not guilty, {because} they have sinned against Yahweh, the {true pasture}, even Yahweh, the hope of their ancestors.'

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.

Raise a war cry against her on all sides. {She has surrendered}. Her towers have fallen, her walls are ruined. For this [is] the vengeance of Yahweh. Take revenge on her. As she has done [to others], [so] do to her.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "The people of Israel [are] oppressed, and the people of Judah likewise, {for} all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free.

A sword against his horses, and against his chariots, and against all the foreign troops who [are] in the midst of her, so that they may become as women. A sword against her treasures, so that they may be plundered.

Look, a people [is] about to come from [the] north, and a great nation and many kings are woken up from [the] remotest part of [the] earth.

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.

They [are] worthless, a work of mockery. At the time of their punishment, they will perish.

[He says], "You [are] a war club for me, a weapon of battle, and I smash nations with you, and I destroy kingdoms with you.

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.

And the fords have been seized, and the reed marshes have been burned with fire, and {the soldiers} are horrified.

Now {so that you are not fainthearted}, and you are afraid at the rumors that are heard in the land-- and in the year the rumor comes, and in the year after it the rumor, and violence [is] in the land, with ruler against ruler--

{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.

We are ashamed, for we have heard taunts, disgrace covers our faces, for strangers have come to the holy places of the house of Yahweh.

"{Therefore} look, days [are] coming," {declares} Yahweh, "and I will punish her images, and [the] fatally wounded will sigh through all her land.

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.

And Jeremiah wrote all the disasters that would come on Babylon in one scroll, all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

Then the city was breached, and all {the soldiers} fled and went out from the city [by] night [by the] way of [the] gate between the two walls that [are] at the garden of the king, though [the] Chaldeans [were] all around the city. And they went [in] the direction of the Jordan Valley.

She weeps bitterly in the night, her tears [are] on her cheeks; she has no comforter among all her lovers. All her friends have been unfaithful to her; they have become her enemies.

The roads of Zion [are] mourning because no one comes to the festival. All her gates [are] desolate, her priests groan; her young women [are] worried, and she herself suffers bitterly.

Her foes have become [her] {master}, her enemies are at ease; Yahweh has made her suffer because of the greatness of her transgressions. Her children have gone away, captive before the foe.

All her people groan, they are searching for bread. They give their treasures for food, to bring back life. See, O Yahweh, and look, [how] I am despised.

For these [things], I am weeping, {my eyes flow with tears}; because a comforter is far from me, one to restore my life. My sons are desolate because [the] enemy has prevailed.

They hear that I was groaning; [there is] no comforter for me. All my enemies have heard my misery, they are pleased that you have done it. Bring [that] day that you have proclaimed, And let them be like me.

Her gates have sunk into the earth; he has ruined and broken her bars, her kings and its princes [are] among the nations; there is no more law. Also, her prophets have not found a revelation from Yahweh.

They sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion are silent. They cast dust on their head, they have put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their head down to the ground.

[They] are new in the morning, great is your faithfulness.

The lips and meditation of my assailants [are] against me all day long.

How [the] gold has grown dim, the pure gold has changed. The stones of holiness are scattered at the head of every street.

The precious sons of Zion weighed against fine gold, how they are thought of as earthen vessels of clay, the work of the potter's hands.

The ones who eat delicacies, they are ruined in the streets; the ones nurtured in purple lie [on] piles of trash.

[Now] their appearance is blacker than soot, they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones, it has become dry like wood.

They hunted our steps, from walking in our streets; our end has come near, {our days are finished}, our end has come.

We have become orphans, fatherless, our mothers are like widows.

We are driven on our necks; we are weary, there is no rest for us.

Our fathers have sinned, they are no more; we bear their iniquity.

Elders are no longer at the gate, young men no longer play stringed instruments.

Unless you have utterly rejected us, unless you are angry with us beyond measure.

And he said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the {Israelites}, to nations [who are] rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors, they transgressed against me {until this very day}.

And the children [are] {impudent} and {stubborn}, [and so] I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!'

And they, whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen], for they [are] a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst.

And you, son of man, you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because briers and thorns [are] with you, and you [are] sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their {looks}, for they [are] a rebellious house.

And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen], for they [are] rebellious.

For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people {of obscure speech} and {of a difficult language},

And the house of Israel, they are not willing to listen to you, for they [are] not willing to listen to me, for all of the house of Israel is hard of forehead, and they [are] hard of heart.

Like a diamond {harder than flint} I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed {on account of them}, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The [one] hearing him, let him hear, and the [one] failing [to hear], let him fail," ' for they {are a rebellious house}.

"And you, take for yourself wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt, and you must put them in one vessel, and you must make them for yourself into a food [during] the number of days that you [are] lying on your side; three hundred and ninety days you shall eat it.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This [is] Jerusalem in the midst of the nations [where] I have put her, and countries [are] around her.

But she has rebelled against my regulations to the point of wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that [are] around her; for they rejected my regulations, and [as for] my statutes, they did not walk in them.

Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of your commotion more than the nations that [are] around you--you did not walk in my statutes, and you did not do my regulations, and according to the regulations of the nations that [are] around you, you did not do.

And it will be [an] object of taunting and [an] object of mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations that [are] around you whenever I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in furious punishments! I, Yahweh, have spoken!

But I will spare [some], {so there will be} for you fugitives from [the] sword among the nations {when you are scattered} in the countries.