ZEDEKIAH’S REQUEST DENIED

21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhurf son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniahg son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, 2 “Inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since King NebuchadnezzarA,h of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

3 But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to repel the weapons of war in your hands,i those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the ChaldeansB who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.j 5 I myself will fight against youk with an outstretched hand and a strong arm,l with anger, fury, and intense wrath. 6 I will strike the residents of this city, both people and animals. They will die in a severe plague. 7 Afterward—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,m to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’n

A WARNING FOR THE PEOPLE

8 “But tell this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.o 9 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.p 10 For I have set my face against this city to bring disaster and not goodq—this is the Lord’s declaration. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it.’r

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 12 House of David, this is what the Lord says:

Administer justice every morning,

and rescue the victim of robbery

from his oppressor,s

or my anger will flare up like fire

and burn unquenchably

because of your evil deeds.

13 Beware! I am against you,t

you who sit above the valley,

you atop the rocky plateau—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

you who say, “Who can come down against us?u

Who can enter our hiding places?”

14 I will punish you according to what you have donev—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

I will kindle a fire in your forestw

that will consume everything around it.’ ”x

JUDGMENT AGAINST SINFUL KINGS

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. 2 You are to say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of Davidy—you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.z Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor.aa Don’t exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow.a Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palaceb riding on chariots and horses—they, their officers, and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by myselfc—this is the Lord’s declaration—that this house will become a ruin.’ ”d

6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like Gileade to me,

or the summit of Lebanon,

but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,

uninhabited cities.

7 I will set apart destroyersf against you,

each with his weapons.

They will cut down the choicest of your cedars

and throw them into the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenantg of the Lord their God and bowed in worship to other gods and served them.’ ”h

A MESSAGE CONCERNING SHALLUM

10 Do not weep for the dead;

do not mourn for him.

Weep bitterly for the one who has gone away,

for he will never return again

and see his native land.i

11 For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallumj son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah, and who has left this place: “He will never return here again, 12 but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”

A MESSAGE CONCERNING JEHOIAKIM

13 Woe for the one who builds his palace

through unrighteousness,k

his upstairs rooms through injustice,

who makes his neighbor serve without pay

and will not give him his wages,l

14 who says, “I will build myself a massive palace,

with spacious upstairs rooms.”

He will cut windowsA in it,

and it will be paneled with cedarm

and painted bright red.

15 Are you a king because you excel in cedar?

Didn’t your father eat and drink

and administer justice and righteousness?n

Then it went well with him.

16 He took up the case of the poor and needy;o

then it went well.

Is this not what it means to know me?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

17 But you have eyes and a heart for nothing

except your own dishonest profit,

shedding innocent blood

and committing extortion and oppression.p

18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakimq son of Josiah, king of Judah:

They will not mourn for him, saying,

“Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!”

They will not mourn for him, saying,

“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!”

19 He will be buried like a donkey,r

dragged off and thrown

outside Jerusalem’s gates.

20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out;

raise your voice in Bashan;

cry out from Abarim,s

for all your lovers* have been crushed.t

21 I spoke to you when you were secure.

You said, “I will not listen.”

This has been your way since youth;u

indeed, you have never listened to me.

22 The wind will take charge ofB all your shepherds,

and your lovers will go into captivity.

Then you will be ashamed and humiliatedv

because of all your evil.

23 You residents of Lebanon,

nestled among the cedars,

how you will groanC when pains come on you,

agony like a woman in labor.a

A MESSAGE CONCERNING CONIAH

24 “As I live”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“though you, ConiahD,b son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ringc on my right hand, I would tear you from it. 25 In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread,d who intend to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birthe to you into another land,f where neither of you were born, and there you will both die. 27 They will never return to the land they long to return to.”

28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,g

a jar no one wants?

Why are he and his descendants hurled out

and cast into a land they have not known?

29 Earth, earth, earth,

hear the word of the Lord!

30 This is what the Lord says:

Record this man as childless,h

a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.

None of his descendants will succeed

in sitting on the throne of Davidi

or ruling again in Judah.

THE LORD AND HIS SHEEP

23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!”j This is the Lord’s declaration. 2 “Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock,k banished them, and have not attended to them.l I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 3 “I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have banished them,m and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.n 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them.o They will no longer be afraid or discouraged, nor will any be missing.”p This is the Lord’s declaration.

THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH OF DAVID

5 “Look, the days are coming”q—this is the Lord’s declaration—

“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David.r

He will reign wisely as king

and administer justice and righteousness in the land.s

6 In his days Judah will be saved,

and Israel will dwell securely.t

This is the name he will be called:

The Lord Is Our Righteousness.A,u

7 “Look, the days are coming”v—the Lord’s declaration—“when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord livesw who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where IB had banished them.’ They will dwell once more in their own land.”x

FALSE PROPHETS CONDEMNED

9 Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,y

and all my bones tremble.

I have become like a drunkard,

like a man overcome by wine,

because of the Lord,

because of his holy words.

10 For the land is full of adulterers;z

the land mournsaa because of the curse,ab

and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.

Their way of lifeC has become evil,

and their power is not rightly used

11 because both prophet and priest are ungodly,ac

even in my housead I have found their evil.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

12 Therefore, their way will seem

like slippery paths in the gloom.ae

They will be driven away and fall down there,

for I will bring disaster on them,

the year of their punishment.af

This is the Lord’s declaration.

13 Among the prophets of Samaria

I saw something disgusting:

They prophesied by Baal

and led my people Israel astray.a

14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem also

I saw a horrible thing:b

They commit adultery and walk in lies.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,

and none turns his back on evil.

They are all like Sodomc to me;

Jerusalem’s residents are like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says concerning the prophets:

I am about to feed them wormwoodd

and give them poisoned water to drink,e

for from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodlinessA has spread throughout the land.

16 This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds,f not from the Lord’s mouth.g 17 They keep on saying to those who despise me,h ‘The Lord has spoken: You will have peace.’i They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ ”

18 For who has stood in the councilj of the Lord

to see and hear his word?

Who has paid attention to his word and obeyed?

19 Look, a storm from the Lord!k

Wrath has gone out,

a whirling storm.

It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.

20 The Lord’s anger will not turn awayl

until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart.

In time to come you will understand it clearly.m

21 I did not send out these prophets,n

yet they ran.o

I did not speak to them,

yet they prophesied.

22 If they had really stood in my council,

they would have enabled my people to hear my words

and would have turned them from their evil ways

and their evil deeds.p

23 “Am I a God who is only near”q—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and not a God who is far away? 24 Can a person hide in secret places where I cannot see him?”r—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”s—the Lord’s declaration.

25 “I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in my name have said: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’t 26 How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? 27 Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause my people to forget my name as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship.u 28 The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 29 “Is not my word like fire”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? 30 Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets”v—the Lord’s declaration—“who steal my words from each other. 31 I am against the prophets”—the Lord’s declaration—“who use their own tongues to make a declaration. 32 I am against those who prophesy false dreams”w—the Lord’s declaration—“telling them and leading my people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at allx to these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

THE BURDEN OF THE LORD

33 “Now when these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden* of the Lord?’ you will respond to them, ‘What is the burden? I will throw you away! This is the Lord’s declaration.’ 34 As for the prophet, priest, or people who say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35 This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But no longer refer toB the burden of the Lord, for each man’s word becomes his burden and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of Armies, our God. 37 Say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ then this is what the Lord says: Because you have said, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ and I specifically told you not to say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ 39 I will surely forget you.C I will throw you away from my presence—both you and the city that I gave you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace and humiliationa that will never be forgotten.”

THE GOOD AND THE BAD FIGS

24 After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported JeconiahD son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmithsb from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figsc placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket contained very good figs, like early figs,d but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. 3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.”

4 The word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will keep my eyes on them for their goode and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them.f 7 I will give them a heart to know me,g that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God because they will return to me with all their heart.h

8 “But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible,i this is what the Lord says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.j 9 I will make them an object of horrork and a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, an example for disgrace, scorn, ridicule,l and cursing, wherever I have banished them.m 10 I will send the sword, famine, and plaguen against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”

THE SEVENTY-YEAR EXILE

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakimo son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon). 2 The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,p king of Judah, until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,A,q but you have not obeyed. 4 The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you time and time again,B but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.C,r 5 He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds.s Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.t 6 Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them,u and do not anger me by the work of your hands.v Then I will do you no harm.

7 “ ‘But you have not obeyed me’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘with the result that you have angered me by the work of your hands and brought disaster on yourselves.’

8 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 I am going to send for all the families of the north’w—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘and send for my servantx Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horrory and scorn, and ruins forever.z 10 I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them—the voice of the groom and the bride,aa the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.ab 12 When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, and I will make it a ruin forever.a 13 I will bring on that land all my words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’ ”b

THE CUP OF GOD’S WRATH

15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink from it.c 16 They will drink, stagger,A and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”d

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink from it.

18 Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an example for scorn and cursing—as it is today;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,

20 and all the mixed peoples;

all the kings of the land of Uz;

all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;

22 all the kings of Tyre,

all the kings of Sidon,

and the kings of the coasts and islands;

23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who clip the hair on their temples;B,e

24 all the kings of Arabia,

and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;

25 all the kings of Zimri,

all the kings of Elam,

and all the kings of Media;

26 all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;

that is, all the kingdoms of the world throughout the earth.

Finally, the king of SheshakC,f will drink after them.

27 “Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink,g get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.’ 28 IfD they refuse to accept the cup from your hand and drink, you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: You must drink! 29 For I am already bringing disasterh on the city that bears my name,i so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.’j

JUDGMENT ON THE WHOLE WORLD

30 “As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:

The Lord roars from on high;

he makes his voice heard from his holy dwelling.k

He roars loudly over his grazing land;

he calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth

because the Lord brings a case againstl the nations.

He enters into judgment with all humanity.m

As for the wicked, he hands them over to the sword—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

32 “This is what the Lord of Armies says:

Pay attention! Disaster spreads

from nation to nation.

A huge storm is stirred up

from the ends of the earth.”n

33 Those slain by the Lordo on that day will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,p gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the soil’s surface.

34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.

Roll in the dust,q you leaders of the flock.

Because the days of your slaughter have come,r

you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.

35 Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,

and escape, for the leaders of the flock.

36 Hear the sound of the shepherds’ cry,

the wail of the leaders of the flock,

for the Lord is destroying their pasture.

37 Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless

because of the Lord’s burning anger.a

38 He has left his den like a lion,

for their land has become a desolation

because of the swordA of the oppressor,b

because of his burning anger.