The World English Bible (WEB)

Chapter 68

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25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 25:2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 25:3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty- three years, the word of Yahweh has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened. 25:4 Yahweh has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, (but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear), 25:5 saying, Return you now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forevermore; 25:6 and don"t go after other G.o.ds to serve them or worship them, and don"t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no harm. 25:7 Yet you have not listened to me, says Yahweh; that you may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt. 25:8 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies: Because you have not heard my words, 25:9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says Yahweh, and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 25:10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 25:11 This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 25:12 It shall happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says Yahweh, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever.

25:13 I will bring on that land all my words which I have p.r.o.nounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 25:14 For many nations and great kings shall make bondservants of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands. 25:15 For thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, to me: take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 25:16 They shall drink, and reel back and forth, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

25:17 Then took I the cup at Yahweh"s hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom Yahweh had sent me: 25:18 to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 25:19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 25:20 and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 25:21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; 25:22 and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea; 25:23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who have the corners of their hair cut off; 25:24 and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness; 25:25 and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 25:26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 25:27 You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Drink you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 25:28 It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Armies: You shall surely drink. 25:29 For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says Yahweh of Armies. 25:30 Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and tell them, Yahweh will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold; he will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 25:31 A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, says Yahweh. 25:32 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great storm shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

25:33 The slain of Yahweh shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

25:34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, you princ.i.p.al of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and you shall fall like a goodly vessel. 25:35 The shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the princ.i.p.al of the flock to escape.

25:36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the princ.i.p.al of the flock! for Yahweh lays waste their pasture. 25:37 The peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Yahweh. 25:38 He has left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger.

26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Yahweh, saying, 26:2 Thus says Yahweh: Stand in the court of Yahweh"s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Yahweh"s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them; don"t diminish a word. 26:3 It may be they will listen, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings. 26:4 You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 26:5 to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened; 26:6 then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. 26:7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh. 26:8 It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, You shall surely die. 26:9 Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh. 26:10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king"s house to the house of Yahweh; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh"s house. 26:11 Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. 26:12 Then spoke Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying, Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 26:13 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Yahweh your G.o.d; and Yahweh will repent him of the evil that he has p.r.o.nounced against you. 26:14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes. 26:15 Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for of a truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears. 26:16 Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our G.o.d. 26:17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the a.s.sembly of the people, saying, 26:18 Micah the Morasht.i.te prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn"t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had p.r.o.nounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls. 26:20 There was also a man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: 26:21 and when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt: 26:22 and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt; 26:23 and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 26:24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 27:2 Thus says Yahweh to me: Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck; 27:3 and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah; 27:4 and give them a command to their masters, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, You shall tell your masters: 27:5 I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me. 27:6 Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him. 27:7 All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son"s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant. 27:8 It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Yahweh, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 27:9 But as for you, don"t you listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon: 27:10 for they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and you should perish. 27:11 But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land, says Yahweh; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 27:12 I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 27:13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 27:14 Don"t listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.

27:15 For I have not sent them, says Yahweh, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you. 27:16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Don"t listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Yahweh"s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 27:17 Don"t listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation? 27:18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Armies, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don"t go to Babylon. 27:19 For thus says Yahweh of Armies concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city, 27:20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn"t take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the n.o.bles of Judah and Jerusalem; 27:21 yes, thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: 27:22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, says Yahweh; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

28:1 It happened the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Yahweh, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 28:2 Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 28:3 Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Yahweh"s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon: 28:4 and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went to Babylon, says Yahweh; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of Yahweh, 28:6 even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Yahweh do so; Yahweh perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Yahweh"s house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon to this place. 28:7 Nevertheless hear you now this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people: 28:8 The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 28:9 The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall happen, then shall the prophet be known, that Yahweh has truly sent him. 28:10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah"s neck, and broke it.

28:11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. The prophet Jeremiah went his way. 28:12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 28:13 Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus says Yahweh: You have broken the bars of wood; but you have made in their place bars of iron. 28:14 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also.

28:15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Yahweh has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie. 28:16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth: this year you shall die, because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh. 28:17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 29:2 (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen mother, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem), 29:3 by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying, 29:4 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: 29:5 Build you houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29:6 Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply you there, and don"t be diminished. 29:7 Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace. 29:8 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Don"t let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen you to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 29:9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, says Yahweh. 29:10 For thus says Yahweh, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. 29:12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 29:13 You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. 29:14 I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive. 29:15 Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon; 29:16 thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven"t gone forth with you into captivity; 29:17 thus says Yahweh of Armies; Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can"t be eaten, they are so bad. 29:18 I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them; 29:19 because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says Yahweh. 29:20 Hear you therefore the word of Yahweh, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

29:21 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes; 29:22 and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 29:23 because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors" wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn"t command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh. 29:24 Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 29:25 Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 29:26 Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Yahweh, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles. 29:27 Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you, 29:28 because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build you houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them? 29:29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 29:30 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 29:31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn"t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie; 29:32 therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says Yahweh, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.

30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 30:2 Thus speaks Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, saying, Write you all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. 30:3 For, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, says Yahweh; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 30:4 These are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 30:5 For thus says Yahweh: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 30:6 Ask now, and see whether a man does travail with child: why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob"s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 30:8 It shall come to pa.s.s in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondservant; 30:9 but they shall serve Yahweh their G.o.d, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them. 30:10 Therefore don"t you be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh; neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 30:11 For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished. 30:12 For thus says Yahweh, Your hurt is incurable, and your wound grievous.

30:13 There is none to plead your cause, that you may be bound up: you have no healing medicines. 30:14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they don"t seek you: for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastis.e.m.e.nt of a cruel one, for the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins were increased. 30:15 Why cry you for your hurt? your pain is incurable: for the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins were increased, I have done these things to you. 30:16 Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; and all your adversaries, everyone of them, shall go into captivity; and those who despoil you shall be a spoil, and all who prey on you will I give for a prey. 30:17 For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says Yahweh; because they have called you an outcast, saying, It is Zion, whom no man seeks after. 30:18 Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will turn again the captivity of Jacob"s tents, and have compa.s.sion on his dwelling places; and the city shall be built on its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner. 30:19 Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 30:20 Their children also shall be as before, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them. 30:21 Their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me: for who is he who has had boldness to approach to me? says Yahweh. 30:22 You shall be my people, and I will be your G.o.d. 30:23 Behold, the storm of Yahweh, even his wrath, is gone forth, a sweeping storm: it shall burst on the head of the wicked. 30:24 The fierce anger of Yahweh shall not return, until he has executed, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days you shall understand it.

31:1 At that time, says Yahweh, will I be the G.o.d of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 31:2 Thus says Yahweh, The people who were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. 31:3 Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you. 31:4 Again will I build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel: again you shall be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who make merry.

31:5 Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy its fruit. 31:6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise you, and let us go up to Zion to Yahweh our G.o.d. 31:7 For thus says Yahweh, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish you, praise you, and say, Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel. 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together: a great company shall they return here. 31:9 They shall come with weeping; and with pet.i.tions will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. 31:10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you nations, and declare it in the islands afar off; and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd does his flock. 31:11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. 31:12 They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says Yahweh. 31:15 Thus says Yahweh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.

31:16 Thus says Yahweh: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says Yahweh; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 31:17 There is hope for your latter end, says Yahweh; and your children shall come again to their own border. 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn you me, and I shall be turned; for you are Yahweh my G.o.d.

31:19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I struck on my thigh: I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 31:20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says Yahweh. 31:21 Set up road signs, make guideposts; set your heart toward the highway, even the way by which you went: turn again, virgin of Israel, turn again to these your cities.

31:22 How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter? for Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompa.s.s a man. 31:23 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I shall bring again their captivity: Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness. 31:24 Judah and all its cities shall dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks. 31:25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished. 31:26 On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me. 31:27 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of animal. 31:28 It shall happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says Yahweh. 31:29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children"s teeth are set on edge. 31:30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31:31 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 31:32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh. 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their G.o.d, and they shall be my people: 31:34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. 31:35 Thus says Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; Yahweh of Armies is his name: 31:36 If these ordinances depart from before me, says Yahweh, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. 31:37 Thus says Yahweh: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says Yahweh. 31:38 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that the city shall be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner. 31:39 The measuring line shall go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and shall turn about to Goah. 31:40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to Yahweh; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever.

32:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

32:2 Now at that time the king of Babylon"s army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah"s house. 32:3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 32:4 and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes; 32:5 and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says Yahweh: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper? 32:6 Jeremiah said, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 32:7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, Buy you my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. 32:8 So Hanamel my uncle"s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Yahweh, and said to me, Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of Yahweh. 32:9 I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle"s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 32:10 I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. 32:11 So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open; 32:12 and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle"s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard. 32:13 I commanded Baruch before them, saying, 32:14 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days. 32:15 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land. 32:16 Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh, saying, 32:17 Ah Lord Yahweh! behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for you, 32:18 who show loving kindness to thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty G.o.d, Yahweh of Armies is his name; 32:19 great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: 32:20 who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made you a name, as in this day; 32:21 and brought forth your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 32:22 and gave them this land, which you did swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 32:23 and they came in, and possessed it, but they didn"t obey your voice, neither walked in your law; they have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do: therefore you have caused all this evil to come on them. 32:24 Behold, the mounds, they are come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and behold, you see it. 32:25 You have said to me, Lord Yahweh, Buy you the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 32:26 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 32:27 Behold, I am Yahweh, the G.o.d of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? 32:28 Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: 32:29 and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other G.o.ds, to provoke me to anger. 32:30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says Yahweh. 32:31 For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from before my face, 32:32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 32:33 They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. 32:34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 32:35 They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pa.s.s through the fire to Molech; which I didn"t command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. 32:36 Now therefore thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, concerning this city, about which you say, It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 32:38 and they shall be my people, and I will be their G.o.d: 32:39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 32:40 and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me. 32:41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land a.s.suredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 32:42 For thus says Yahweh: Like as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so will I bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 32:43 Fields shall be bought in this land, about which you say, It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 32:44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, says Yahweh.

33:1 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 33:2 Thus says Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it; Yahweh is his name: 33:3 Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don"t know. 33:4 For thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the mounds and against the sword; 33:5 while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city: 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth. 33:7 I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 33:8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned against me, and by which they have transgressed against me. 33:9 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 to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it. 33:10 Thus says Yahweh: Yet again there shall be heard in this place, about which you say, It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, 33:11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever; and of them who bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of Yahweh. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, says Yahweh. 33:12 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 33:13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pa.s.s under the hands of him who numbers them, says Yahweh. 33:14 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.

33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 33:16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name by which she shall be called: Yahweh our righteousness. 33:17 For thus says Yahweh: David shall never want a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 33:18 neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 33:19 The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 33:20 Thus says Yahweh: If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season; 33:21 then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 33:22 As the army of the sky can"t be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me. 33:23 The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 33:24 Don"t you consider what this people has spoken, saying, The two families which Yahweh did choose, he has cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 33:25 Thus says Yahweh: If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 33:26 then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.

34:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of it, saying: 34:2 Thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: 34:3 and you shall not escape out of his hand, but shall surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon. 34:4 Yet hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus says Yahweh concerning you, You shall not die by the sword; 34:5 you shall die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they make a burning for you; and they shall lament you, saying, Ah Lord! for I have spoken the word, says Yahweh. 34:6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 34:7 when the king of Babylon"s army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities. 34:8 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them; 34:9 that every man should let his male servant, and every man his female servant, who is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondservants of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 34:10 All the princes and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant, that everyone should let his male servant, and everyone his female servant, go free, that none should make bondservants of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go: 34:11 but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

34:12 Therefore the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 34:13 Thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 34:14 At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you: but your fathers didn"t listen to me, neither inclined their ear. 34:15 You were now turned, and had done that which is right in my eyes, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and you had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 34:16 but you turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom you had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and you brought them into subjection, to be to you for servants and for handmaids. 34:17 Therefore thus says Yahweh: you have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim to you a liberty, says Yahweh, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. 34:18 I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and pa.s.sed between its parts; 34:19 the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who pa.s.sed between the parts of the calf; 34:20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth. 34:21 Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon"s army, who have gone away from you.

34:22 Behold, I will command, says Yahweh, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

35:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 35:2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of Yahweh, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 35:3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 35:4 and I brought them into the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of G.o.d, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. 35:5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, Drink you wine. 35:6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever: 35:7 neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you sojourn. 35:8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters; 35:9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 35:10 but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 35:11 But it happened, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem. 35:12 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 35:13 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? says Yahweh. 35:14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father"s commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me. 35:15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don"t go after other G.o.ds to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me. 35:16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me; 35:17 therefore thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have p.r.o.nounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered. 35:18 Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you; 35:19 therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the G.o.d of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.

36:1 It happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 36:2 Take a scroll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.

36:3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. 36:4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Yahweh, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book. 36:5 Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I can"t go into the house of Yahweh: 36:6 therefore go you, and read in the scroll, which you have written from my mouth, the words of Yahweh in the ears of the people in Yahweh"s house on the fast day; and also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities.

36:7 It may be they will present their supplication before Yahweh, and will return everyone from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that Yahweh has p.r.o.nounced against this people. 36:8 Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Yahweh in Yahweh"s house. 36:9 Now it happened in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Yahweh. 36:10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of Yahweh"s house, in the ears of all the people. 36:11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of Yahweh, 36:12 he went down into the king"s house, into the scribe"s chamber: and behold, all the princes were sitting there, to wit, Elishama the scribe, 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 princes. 36:13 Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. 36:14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them. 36:15 They said to him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. 36:16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. 36:17 They asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How did you write all these words at his mouth? 36:18 Then Baruch answered them, He p.r.o.nounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. 36:19 Then said the princes to Baruch, Go, hide you, you and Jeremiah; and let no man know where you are. 36:20 They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king. 36:21 So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king. 36:22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire in the brazier burning before him.

36:23 It happened, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, that the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 36:24 They were not afraid, nor tore their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words. 36:25 Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not hear them.

36:26 The king commanded Jerahmeel the king"s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them. 36:27 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, 36:28 Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.

36:29 Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, Thus says Yahweh: You have burned this scroll, saying, Why have you written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from there man and animal? 36:30 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. 36:31 I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil that I have p.r.o.nounced against them, but they didn"t listen. 36:32 Then took Jeremiah another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides to them many like words.

37:1 Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 37:2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did listen to the words of Yahweh, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 37:3 Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now to Yahweh our G.o.d for us. 37:4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison. 37:5 Pharaoh"s army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem. 37:6 Then came the word of Yahweh to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 37:7 Thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh"s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 37:8 The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire. 37:9 Thus says Yahweh, Don"t deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart. 37:10 For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. 37:11 It happened that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh"s army, 37:12 then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the midst of the people. 37:13 When he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, You are falling away to the Chaldeans. 37:14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans. But he didn"t listen to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 37:15 The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.

37:16 When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; 37:17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Yahweh? Jeremiah said, There is. He said also, You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 37:18 Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, Wherein have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 37:19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 37:20 Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 37:21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers"

street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

38:1 Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, 38:2 Thus says Yahweh, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.

38:3 Thus says Yahweh, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. 38:4 Then the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray you, be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn"t seek the welfare of this people, but the hurt. 38:5 Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you. 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king"s son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

38:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king"s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin), 38:8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king"s house, and spoke to the king, saying, 38:9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city. 38:10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies. 38:11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 38:12 Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under your armholes under the cords. Jeremiah did so. 38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. 38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of Yahweh: and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you a thing; hide nothing from me. 38:15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death?

and if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me. 38:16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life. 38:17 Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah

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