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.

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.

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 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}.

{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.

then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [with] shaven beards and torn garments, [who had] cut themselves with blades, {having} grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring [to] the {temple} of Yahweh.

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."

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.

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 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard. Look, I [am] going to pray to Yahweh your God according to your words, {and then} all the words that Yahweh answers you I will tell you; I will not withhold from you a word."

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,

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.

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."

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--

Then he will kindle a fire in the {temples} of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. And he will wrap up the land of Egypt just as the shepherd wraps up his cloak. And he will go forth from there in peace.

But they did not listen and they did not incline their ears to turn back from their wickedness, to not make smoke offerings to other gods.

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,

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.

But certainly we will do {everything} that went out from our mouths, to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, [for] then {we had enough to eat}, and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

And [the] survivors of [the] sword will return from the land of Egypt [to] the land of Judah {few in number}. And all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there will know whose word will endure, from me or from them.

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},

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.

Egypt [is] a beautiful heifer, [but] a gadfly from [the] north [will] come against her.

"But [as for] you, my servant Jacob, you must not be afraid, and Israel, you must not be dismayed, for look, I [am] going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be quiet, and he will be at ease, and without [one who] makes [him] afraid.

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,

from the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, from the clattering of his chariots, the noise of their wheels. Fathers do not turn to [their] children because of [the] slackness of [their] hands.

Because of the day that is coming to destroy all [the] Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and from Sidon every survivor [who could] help, for Yahweh [is] destroying [the] Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

The glory of Moab is no longer. In Heshbon they planned evil against her. Come and let us cut her off from [being] a nation. Also, Madmen, you will be silent. After you will go [the] sword.

[The] sound of a cry of distress [arises] from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction.

[The one who] does the work of Yahweh [with] slackness [is] cursed, and [the one who] keeps away blood from his sword [is] cursed.

Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has been quiet on his dregs, and he has not been poured out from vessel to vessel, and he has not gone into exile. {Therefore} his taste has remained unchanged, and his fragrance has not changed.

Come down from glory and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, he has destroyed your fortifications.

And joy and rejoicing have been taken away from [the] fruitful land, even from the land of Moab. And [the] wine from [the] wine presses I have caused to disappear. He will not tread [with] exuberant shouts. Exuberant shouts [will] not [be] exuberant shouts.

From the cry for help of Heshbon, up to Elealeh, up to Jahaz, they give their voice, from Zoar up to Horonaim, [up to] Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim have become as a desolation.

And Moab will be destroyed from [being] a people, because against Yahweh he magnified himself.

"He [who] flees {before} the dread will fall into the pit, and the [one who] climbs up from the pit will be caught in the trapping net, for I will bring on Moab the year of their punishment," {declares} Yahweh.

"In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stand without strength, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, and a flame from Sihon. And it has eaten the forehead of Moab, and the skulls of the people of tumult.

Look, I [am] going to bring dread on you," {declares} Lord Yahweh of hosts, "from all your surrounding [neighbors]. And you will be scattered, each one {before it}, and there is no [one who] gathers the fugitives.

Concerning Edom, thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel become lost from [those who] understand? Is their wisdom rotting?

I have heard a message from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent among the nations. "Gather and come against her, and rise for the battle."

Your terror has deceived you, the pride of your heart, [O you who] dwell in the clefts of the rock, [you who] seize [the] height of [the] hill. Though you make your nest high like the eagle, from there I will bring you down," {declares} Yahweh.

Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan to {a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream}. So {I will chase him away hurriedly} from it. And whoever [is] chosen I will appoint over it. For who [is] like me, and who can summon me? And who [is] this, [the] shepherd who can stand {before me}?"

The earth will quake from the sound of their falling. A cry of distress! Their voice will be heard at {the Red Sea}.

They will take their tents, and their flocks, their tent curtains, and all their equipment, and their camels they will carry away for themselves, and they will call to them, 'Terror [is] from all around.'

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.

And I will bring to Elam four winds, from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will not be a nation where the scattered people of Elam will not go.

And I will set my throne in Elam and I will destroy from there king and officials,' {declares} Yahweh.

For a nation will come up against her from [the] north. It will make her land as a horror, and an inhabitant will not be in her. From humans to animals they [all] will wander [off]. They will go [away].

My people have become lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray. They led them away [to the] mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their resting place.

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.

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.

Come against her from [the] end, open her granaries. Pile her up like heaps and destroy her. Let there be no remnant for her.

[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.

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.

Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan against {a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream}, so {I will chase them away quickly} from her, and I will appoint whoever [is] chosen over her. For who [is] like me, and who can summon me, and who [is] this shepherd who can stand {before me}?

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.

For neither Israel nor Judah [is] a widower from their God, from Yahweh of hosts, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel."

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.

At the giving of his voice [there is] a roar of waters in the heavens, and he causes [the] patches of mist to go up from [the] end of [the] earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings out [the] wind from his storehouses.

"Look, I [am] against you, O mountain of the destruction," {declares} Yahweh, "the [one] that destroys the whole earth. And I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will roll you down from the cliffs, and I will make you as a mountain burned away.

They will not take from you a stone for a corner, and a stone for a foundation, for you will be {an everlasting desolation}," {declares} Yahweh.

[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}.

And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth {what he has swallowed}. And [the] nations will not stream towards him [any] longer {what's worse}, the wall of Babylon has fallen.

Come out from her midst, my people, and save each one his life from {the burning anger of} Yahweh.

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.

Survivors of [the] sword, go! You must not linger! Remember Yahweh from far [away], and let Jerusalem come to your {mind}.

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.

And you must say, 'Yahweh, you yourself spoke against this place, to destroy it, so that [there will] not be in it [anything] living, from humankind to animals, for it will be {an everlasting desolation}.'

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.

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.

But the army of [the] Chaldeans pursued after the king and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

And from the city he took one high official who was chief officer over {the soldiers}, and seven men of {the king's advisors} who were found in the city, and the secretary of the commander of the army who levied for military service the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.

And the king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah left from its land.

in [the] eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred and thirty-two persons from Jerusalem;

{And then} in [the] thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in [the] twelfth month, on [the] twenty-fifth [day] of the month, Evil-merodach, the king of Babylon, in the [first] year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, and brought him out from {prison}.

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 remembers the days of her misery and wanderings, all her treasures that were from the days of long ago. When her people fell into [the] hand of the enemy, there was no one helping her; the enemies saw her, they mocked at her destruction.

From heaven he sent fire, into my bones he let it descend. He spread out a net for my feet; he turned me back, he gave me devastation, fainting all day.

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.

See, O Yahweh, that {I am in distress}; {my stomach} is in torment, my heart has turned inside me because I have certainly rebelled. From outside a sword brings bereavement, inside the house [it is] like death.

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 cut down {in fierce anger} all the might of Israel; he has withdrawn his right hand from the faces of [the] enemy, and he has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire, it has consumed all around.

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.

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.

Yahweh has done what he has planned; he has fulfilled his promise that he ordained from the days of old; he has demolished and not shown mercy; he has made an enemy rejoice over you, he has exalted the {might} of your foes.

You have summoned my horror from all around, as if for a feast day; no one on the day of Yahweh's anger [is] a fugitive and a survivor; whoever I have cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed.

My life has been removed from peace, I have forgotten goodness.

And I have said, "My glory is ruined, my expectation from Yahweh."

[Is] it not from the mouth of the Most High [that] disaster and good will come?

until Yahweh looks down and sees from heaven.

I have called your name, O Yahweh, from the depths of the pit.

Pursue them {in anger} and destroy them from under the heavens of Yahweh.

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

Slaves rule over us; there is no one to deliver us from their hand.

The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!