The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Yet, in spite of this, you, Lord God, have said to me, "Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed."'"

Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah:

{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.

And the Chaldeans, who are fighting against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and they will burn it, and the houses where they have made smoke offerings on their roofs to Baal, and [where] they have devoted libations to other gods, in order to provoke me to anger.

From their youth, the Israelites and Judeans have done nothing but what is evil in My sight! They have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands”—this is the Lord’s declaration—

"For this city has been for me [a cause] of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even until this day, [so I will] remove it from my {sight},

I am determined to do so because the people of Israel and Judah have made me angry with all their wickedness -- they, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, and especially the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have done this wickedness.

And they built the high places of Baal that [are] in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to present as offerings their sons and their daughters to Molech, which I had not commanded them, and it had not come to my {mind} to do this detestable thing in order to cause Judah to sin."

"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':

Look, I [am] going to gather them from all the lands [to] which I driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell {in safety}.

And I will rejoice over them to do good [to] them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."

"For thus says Yahweh, 'Just as I have brought to this people all this great disaster, so I [will] bring upon them all the good that I promise to them.

And the fields will be bought in this land [of] which you [are] saying, "It [is] a desolation, {without humankind or animals}. It has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

Fields will be purchased with silver, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed, and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah’s cities—the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev—because I will restore their fortunes.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah on this manner, when he was yet bound in the court of the prison,

“The Lord who made the earth, the Lord who forms it to establish it, Yahweh is His name, says this:

For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, that were torn down [to make a defense] against the siege ramps and against the sword:

'[They are] coming to fight against the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the corpses of the people whom I will strike in my anger and in my wrath, for whom I have hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness.

But I will most surely heal the wounds of this city and restore it and its people to health. I will show them abundant peace and security.

And this city'shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure unto it.

"Thus says Yahweh: 'Again will be heard in this place, [of] which you [are] saying, "It [is] a waste, {without} people and {without} animals," in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, {without} people and {without} inhabitants and {without} animals,

Shall the voice of gladness be heard again; the voice of the Bridegroom and of the bride; the voice of them that shall sing, 'Praise the LORD of Hosts, for he is loving and his mercy endureth forever,' and the voice of them that shall offer up gifts in the house of the LORD. For I will restore the captivity of this land, as it was afore, sayeth 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.

I, the Lord, say that shepherds will once again count their sheep as they pass into the fold. They will do this in all the towns in the southern hill country, the western foothills, the southern hill country, the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah.'

“Look, the days are coming”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“when I will fulfill the good promises
that I have spoken
concerning the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.

In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell {safely}, and this [is] what they shall call it: "Yahweh [is] our righteousness." '

“For this is what the Lord says: David will never fail to have a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.

And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah after this manner,

“This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time,

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah:

Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which Jehovah did choose, he hath cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

This is what the Lord says: If I do not keep My covenant with the day and with the night and fail to establish the fixed order of heaven and earth,

Just as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will restore them and show mercy to them."

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities:

"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.

But give ear to the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah; this is what the Lord has said about you: Death will not come to you by the sword:

you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you. ‘Our king is dead!’ will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.

He did this while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the cities of Lachish and Azekah. He was attacking these cities because they were the only fortified cities of Judah which were still holding out.

This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

And this was done by all the rulers and the people who had taken part in the agreement, and every one let his man-servant and his servant-girl go free, not to be used as servants any longer; they did so, and let them go.

And they will turn back after this, and they will cause their servants and their maids to turn back whom they sent away free, and they subdued them for servants and for maids.

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

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying:

And you, ye had this day turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

But yet ye have turned yourselves again, and blasphemed my name, in this: That every man hath required his servant and handmaid again, whom ye had letten go quit and free, and compelled them to serve you again, and to be your bondmen.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms.

Look, I [am] going to command,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and they will capture it, and they will burn it with fire, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation {without} an inhabitant.'"

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Go and say to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, Is there no hope of teaching you to give ear to my words? says the Lord.

"The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his descendants to not drink, have been carried out, and they have not drunk until this day, for they have obeyed the command of their ancestor. But {I have spoken to you over and over again}, and you have not listened to me.

I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, "Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors." But you did not pay any attention or listen to 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.

But to the Rechabites Jeremiah said, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Because you have done the orders of Jonadab your father, and have kept his rules, and done everything as he gave you orders to do it;

For this reason the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, Jonadab, the son of Rechab, will never be without a man to take his place before me.

{And then} in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, {saying},

"Take for yourself {a scroll} and you must write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from [the] day [that] I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, and until this day.

Perhaps their plea will fall {before} Yahweh and each one will turn away from his evil way, for great [is] the anger and wrath that Yahweh pronounced against this people."

And this was done in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, when it was commanded that all the people of Jerusalem should fast before the LORD, and they also that were come from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll to all the people at the LORD's Temple. He did this from the office of Shaphan's son Gemariah the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's Temple.

Baruch answered, "Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll."

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation:

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"?'"

For this reason the Lord has said of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, He will have no son to take his place on the seat of David: his dead body will be put out to undergo the heat of the day and the cold of the night.

Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind.

Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:

"Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire [of] me, "Look, the army of Pharaoh, which set out to help you, [is] going to return to his land Egypt.

And the Chaldeans will return, and they will fight against this city, and they will capture it, and they will burn it with fire." '

This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,’ for they will not leave.

For [even] if you struck the whole army of [the] Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and [only] men pierced through remained among them, each one in his tent, they would rise up and they would burn this city with fire.'"

Then Zedekiah the king sent for him and called him, and asked him quietly in his own house, saying, "Thinkest thou this business, that now is in hand, cometh of the LORD?" Jeremiah answered, "Yea, that it doth: and thou, said he, shalt be delivered in to the king of Babylon's power."

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What did I do wrong to you, or to your servants, or to this people, that you have put me in {prison}?

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

Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, perceived the words, that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, namely on this manner:

"Thus says Yahweh, 'The [one who] stays in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But the [one who] goes out to the Chaldeans will live. And his life will be for him as booty, and he will live.'

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 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."

And the king commandeth Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying, 'Take with thee from this thirty men, and thou hast brought up Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dieth.'

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."

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.'"

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

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."

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about this conversation and you will not die.

If they do this, tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to die in the dungeon of Jonathan's house.'"

This is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.

And more than this, he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and had him put in chains to take him away to Babylon.

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guard:

"Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] about to bring my words to pass against this city for evil and not for good. And they will be {before you} on that day.

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.

Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

So then the, chief of the royal executioners took Jeremiah, - and said unto him, Yahweh thy God had threatened this calamity against this place;

and so Yahweh hath brought it about and done it just as he threatened, - for ye have sinned against Yahweh, and have not hearkened unto his voice, and so this thing hath befallen you.

And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which are upon thy hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will look well unto thee; but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee; whither it seemeth good and right unto thee to go, thither go.

Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans; stay in this land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you.

Then said Gedaliah son of Ahikam unto Johanan son of Kareah, Thou mayest not do this thing, - for, falsely, art thou speaking against Ishmael.

Then Ishmael took captive all the people who were still left alive in Mizpah. This included the royal princesses and all the rest of the people in Mizpah that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had put under the authority of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took all these people captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.