Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Babylon » Predictions respecting » Conquests by
But Jeremiah answered, "This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands, those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city. I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, with anger, rage, and great wrath. read more.
I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. Afterwards'"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"'King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people-those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine-I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won't spare them or show pity or compassion.' "But you must say to this people, 'This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils [of war]. For I have turned against this city to [bring] disaster and not good""-[this is] the Lord's declaration. "'It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.'
I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. Afterwards'"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"'King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people-those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine-I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won't spare them or show pity or compassion.' "But you must say to this people, 'This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils [of war]. For I have turned against this city to [bring] disaster and not good""-[this is] the Lord's declaration. "'It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.'
"This is what the Lord said to me: Make fetters and yoke bars for yourself and put them on your neck. Send [word] to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through messengers who are coming to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. Command them [to go] to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters: read more.
By My great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please. So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him.
By My great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please. So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him.
About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's king, defeated, this is what the Lord says: Rise up, go against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east! They will take their tents and their flocks along with their tent curtains and all their equipment. They will take their camels for themselves. They will call out to them: Terror is on every side! Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, residents of Hazor- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration- for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you. read more.
Rise up, go up against a nation at ease, one living in security. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. They have no doors, not even a gate bar; they live alone. Their camels will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. Hazor will become a jackals' den, a desolation forever. No one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a resident alien.
Rise up, go up against a nation at ease, one living in security. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. They have no doors, not even a gate bar; they live alone. Their camels will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. Hazor will become a jackals' den, a desolation forever. No one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a resident alien.
"Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon's king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to [each] city. Mark out a road that the sword can take to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon stands at the split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver. read more.
The answer marked Jerusalem appears in his right hand, [indicating] that he should set up battering rams, give the order to slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall. It will seem like false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians, but it will draw attention to [their] guilt so that they will be captured. "Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them. And you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your punishment." This is what the Lord God says: Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are; exalt the lowly and bring down the exalted. A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! Yet this will not happen until He comes; I have given the judgment to Him. "Now prophesy, son of man, and say: This is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt. You are to proclaim: Sword, sword! [You are] drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning. While they offer false visions and lying divinations about you, [the time] has come to put you to the necks of the profane wicked ones; the day has come for your punishment. Return [it] to its sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your origin. I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow the fire of My fury on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled at destruction. You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will be [spilled] in the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken."
The answer marked Jerusalem appears in his right hand, [indicating] that he should set up battering rams, give the order to slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall. It will seem like false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians, but it will draw attention to [their] guilt so that they will be captured. "Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them. And you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your punishment." This is what the Lord God says: Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are; exalt the lowly and bring down the exalted. A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! Yet this will not happen until He comes; I have given the judgment to Him. "Now prophesy, son of man, and say: This is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt. You are to proclaim: Sword, sword! [You are] drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning. While they offer false visions and lying divinations about you, [the time] has come to put you to the necks of the profane wicked ones; the day has come for your punishment. Return [it] to its sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your origin. I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow the fire of My fury on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled at destruction. You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will be [spilled] in the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken."
"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it. Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army's compensation. I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for Me." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Seeks the intercession of jeremiah with God on his behalf
Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!”
[This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, "Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His [past] wonderful works so that [Nebuchadnezzar] will withdraw from us." But Jeremiah answered, "This is what you are to say to Zedekiah:
King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; don't hide anything from me." Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, you will kill me, won't you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway." King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, "As the Lord lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who want to take your life." read more.
Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.' " But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to them to abuse me." "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the Lord has shown me: 'All the women who remain in the palace of Judah's king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say: Your trusted friends misled you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you. All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.' " Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these things or you will die. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, 'Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?' then you will tell them, 'I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.' " When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard.
Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.' " But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to them to abuse me." "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the Lord has shown me: 'All the women who remain in the palace of Judah's king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say: Your trusted friends misled you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you. All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.' " Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these things or you will die. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, 'Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?' then you will tell them, 'I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.' " When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard.