Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Yahweh that he had spoken to him on {a scroll}.

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.

{And then} in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast {before} Yahweh.

Then Baruch read aloud from the scroll the words of Jeremiah [in] the temple of Yahweh, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the secretary, in the upper courtyard [at] the entrance of the New Gate of the temple of Yahweh in the hearing of all the people.

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

he went down [to] the house of the king, to the chamber of the secretary, and look, all the officials [were] sitting there: Elishama the secretary, 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 [other] officials.

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 the king commanded Jerahmeel, the son of the king, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but Yahweh hid them.

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.

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.

And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, {saying}, "Please pray for us to Yahweh our God."

{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!"

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},

So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit [of] Malchiah, the son of the king, which [was] in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit there was no water, {but only} mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

And they sent and took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to the house, so he stayed in the midst of the people.

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.

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, [at] Mizpah and stayed with him in the midst of the people who were left in the land.

When all the commanders of the armies who [were] in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [in an official position] in the land, and that {he had put him in charge of} men, and women, and little children, and of the poor of the land, of [all those] who had not been deported [to] Babylon,

then they went to Gedaliah [at] Mizpah--Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, and Jehonathan the son 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.

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 Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] in the open country came to Gedaliah [at] Mizpah

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 then} in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and [one of] the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [at] Mizpah, {along with} ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah.

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.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, {weeping as he came}. {And then} as [he was] meeting them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam."

{And then}, the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, {along with} the men who [were] with him, slaughtered them [and threw them] to the middle of the pit.

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 Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who [were] in Mizpah, the daughters of the king and all the people who were left at Mizpah, [over] whom Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael took them captive and set out to cross over to the {Ammonites}.

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 whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped with eight men {from} Johanan, and they went to the {Ammonites}.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, strong men, {soldiers}, and women, and little children, and eunuchs whom he 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 had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

Then all the commanders of the armies, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from [the] smallest to [the] greatest, approached

And he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, and all the people from [the] smallest to [the] greatest,

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.'

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."

So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies, and all the people did not listen to the voice of Yahweh to stay in the land of Judah.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies took all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations [to] which they had been scattered to dwell as aliens in the land of Judah--

the men, and the women, and the little children, and the daughters of the king, and {everyone} whom Nebuzaradan [the] captain of [the] {guard} had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah--

"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,

And this [will be] to you the sign,' {declares} Yahweh, 'that I [am] going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that surely my words will endure against you for evil.'

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, at his writing these words on a scroll from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, {saying},

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.

As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," says Yahweh, "{no one} will live there, and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in it.

"And Hazor will become as a lair of jackals, a waste forever; no one will live there, and no son of humankind will dwell as an alien in it."

They will ask [the] way [to] Zion, [turning] their faces there. They will come and join themselves to Yahweh [by] {an everlasting covenant} [that] will not be forgotten.

[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.

As [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," {declares} Yahweh, "no one will live there, and [the] son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.

Yahweh has brought forth our vindication. Come and let us make known in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.

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.

"[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.

At their becoming hot I will set their banquets, and I will make them drunk, so that they will fall into a swoon, and they will sleep {an everlasting sleep}, and they will not wake up," {declares} Yahweh.

Her cities have become as an [object of] horror, a dry land and a wilderness, a land in which no person lives, nor does a son of humankind pass through it.

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}.

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.

All her majesty has gone away from the daughter of Zion; her princes have become like young stags that have not found pasture; they have gone away without strength, before the pursuer.

Jerusalem sinned grievously, thus she became an objection of derision; all those who honored her despise her because they have seen her nakedness. She herself groans and turns away.

The enemy has stretched out his hand over all her treasures; for she has seen the nations, they entered her sanctuary, those whom you commanded not to enter in your assembly.

Zion stretches out her hands; there is no one to comfort her. Yahweh has commanded against Jacob, [that] those surrounding him [should be] his enemies; Jerusalem has become a defilement among them.

How, {in his anger}, the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion in a cloud! He has thrown down from heavens [to] earth the splendor of Israel, and he has not remembered his footstool in the day of {his anger}.

He has bent his bow like an enemy; he has set his right hand like a foe, and he has slain all [the] treasures of [the] eye; in the tent of the daughter of Zion, he has poured out his anger like fire.

He has broken down {his dwelling} place like the garden; he has ruined his appointed feasts; Yahweh has made [them] forget in Zion {festival} and Sabbath, and he has despised in his anger king and priest.

Yahweh has planned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He measured [with] a line; he has not restrained his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to mourn; together they have languished away.

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.

What can I say for you? What can I compare to you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you so that I can comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your destruction [is] as vast as the sea; who can heal you?

Your prophets had a vision for you, false and worthless; they have not exposed your sin, to restore your fortune; they have seen oracles for you, false and misleading.

They have opened their mouths against you, all your enemies. They hiss and gnash a tooth, and they say, "We have destroyed [her]! Surely this [is] the day we have hoped for; we have found [it], we have seen [it]!"

Their heart cried to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a river; day and night, do not give yourself relief, do not give your eyes rest.

I am a man who has seen misery, under the rod of his wrath.

Why should any living person complain about his sin?

You have seen my injustice, O Yahweh; judge my case.

You have seen all their vengeance, all there plans against me.

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 iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom; it was overthrown in a moment and no hands were laid on her.

Her princes were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; [their] bodies were more ruddy than rubies, sapphire their appearance.

Yahweh has completed his anger, he has poured out {his fierce anger}; he has kindled a fire in Zion, it consumed her foundations.

The [punishment] of your iniquity is completed, O daughter of Zion, your exile will not continue; [but] he will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will reveal your sins.

They raped women in Zion, young women in the cities of Judah.

Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate, {foxes tread on it}.

the word of Yahweh {came} clearly to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of [the] Chaldeans at the {Kebar River}, and the hand of Yahweh was on him there.

And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you."

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 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, son of man, hear what I [am] speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like [the] house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I [am] giving to you."

And he said to me, "Son of man, what you find, eat! Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."

and he said to me, "Son of man, you must give your stomach [this] to eat, and you must fill your belly [with] this scroll that I [am] giving to you." And I ate, and it became {like sweet honey} in my mouth.

And he said to me, "Son of man, come! Go to the house of Israel, and you must speak to them with my words.

And he said to me, "Son of man, all of my words that I shall speak to you, receive into your heart and hear with your ears.

"Son of man, I have appointed you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.

And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and [the] righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life."

and you, son of man, look, they will place cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them.

"Now, son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it {before you}, and you must portray on it a city, Jerusalem.

And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it [as] a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be {under siege}, and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel.