eng_aiv Amundson Interpretive Version Jeremiah Jeremiah Jeremiah Jer Jeremiah id=eng_aiv name=Amundson Interpretive Version (AIV) status=draft spec=USFM-USX 3.1.1 export=2026-11-02 char:add=translator-addition-italic char:wj=words-of-Jesus-as-received-unmapped note:f=footnotes para:r=parallel-passage-references para:d=psalm-superscriptions The Call of Jeremiah The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of YHWH came in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reigning. And it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month. And the word of YHWH came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you; and before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” And I said, “Ah, Lord YHWH! Behold, I have not known to speak, for I am a youth.” And YHWH said to me, “Do not say ‘I am a youth.’ For you shall go to all to whom I shall send you, and all that I command you, you shall speak. “Do not be afraid of their faces; for I am with you to deliver you,” a declaration of YHWH. And YHWH stretched out His hand and touched my mouth. And YHWH said to me “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” And the word of YHWH came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” And YHWH said to me, “You have seen well;” “For I am watching1.12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree. over My word to do it.” And the word of YHWH came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot; and its face is away from the face of the north.” And YHWH said to me, “From the north evil shall break forth over all those dwelling in the land. For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” a declaration of YHWH, “And they shall come, and set each man his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will speak My judgments against them over all their wickedness, because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, and bowed down to the works of their own hands. And you must gird your loins, and stand up, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before their faces! And behold, for I have made you this day as a fortified city, and as a pillar of iron, and as walls of bronze against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. And they will fight against you, and they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you,” a declaration of YHWH. Israel Has Forsaken God And the word of YHWH came to me saying, “Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says YHWH, “I remember you, the loving devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothal, of your going after Me in the wilderness in a land not sown. “Israel was holy to YHWH, and the firstfruit of His increase. All those eating it were guilty; and disaster came upon them,’” a declaration of YHWH. Hear the word of YHWH, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says YHWH, “What injustice did your⁺ fathers find in Me, that they have gone far away from Me, and went after the empty, and became empty? They did not say, ‘Where is YHWH who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of desert plain and pit, through a land of drought and darkness, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt there?’ “And I brought you⁺ into a land of fertility, to eat its fruit and its goodness; and you⁺ came in, and you⁺ defiled My land and made My inheritance into an abomination! The priests did not say, ‘Where is YHWH?’ And those handling the law did not know Me; and the rulers transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things not profitable. Therefore still I will contend with you⁺,” a declaration of YHWH, “And with the sons of your⁺ sons I will contend. For pass over to the coasts of Kittim2.10 That is, Cyprus and see! And send to Kedar, and give much consideration, and see if there has been such as this! Has a nation changed its gods, (and they are not gods)? And My people have changed their Glory2.11 Or their glorious God for what does not profit. Be dismayed, O heavens, by this, and shudder, Be very desolate,” a declaration of YHWH. For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water. The Consequence of Israel’s Sin Is Israel a slave? Or is he born of the house? Why has he become as plunder? The young lions roared at him; they gave forth their voice. And they made his land into a desolation: His cities are left in ruins, without a dweller. Even the sons of Memphis2.16 LXX; Hebrew Noph and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head. Have you not done this to yourself, by your forsaking YHWH your God in the time He led you in the way? And now, what is unto you in the way of Egypt— to drink the waters of Shihor?2.18 Shihor is a branch of the Nile River Or what is unto you in the way of Assyria— to drink the waters of the River?2.18 That is, the Euphrates Your own evil will discipline you, and your turning away will rebuke you. Know then and see that it is evil and bitter, your forsaking YHWH your God! And the fear of Me is not in you,” a declaration of the Lord YHWH of Hosts. “For from long ago I have broken your yoke, and torn off your bonds. And you said, I will not serve!’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute. And I had planted you as a vine, all of it a true seed. How then did you turn before Me into degenerates of a strange vine? For though you wash with lye, and use for yourself much soap, your iniquity is a stain before My face,” a declaration of the Lord YHWH. Israel’s Unfaithfulness (Judges 2:10–15; Isaiah 43:22–28) How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; know what you have done— a swift young she-camel entangling her ways, a wild donkey, a pupil of the wilderness, sniffing the wind of her desire; in her heat, who can turn her away? All those seeking her will not weary themselves; in her month, they will find her. “Withhold your foot from being bare, and your throat from thirst: And you said, ‘It is hopeless! No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I shall go.’ “Like the shame of a thief when he is found, so the house of Israel is ashamed— they, and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets— saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned the nape to Me, and not the faces; but in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise, and save us.’ “And where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them stand up, if they can save you in the time of your trouble! For as the number of your cities, are your gods, O Judah. Why do you⁺ contend with Me? You⁺ all have transgressed against Me,” a declaration of YHWH. “In vain I have struck your⁺ sons; they accepted no discipline, and your⁺ own sword has devoured your⁺ prophets like a destroying lion.” “O generation, consider you⁺ the word of YHWH. “Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; we will not come to You anymore?’ Can a virgin forget her jewelry, or a bride her sashes? And My people have forgotten Me for days without number. “Why do you beautify your way to seek love? So even the wicked you have taught your ways. “Also on your skirts is found the blood of innocent needy souls— and not breaking in did you find them! But in spite of all these things, you also say ‘Because I am innocent, surely His anger has turned away from me.’ Behold, I will plead with you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ “Why you go about so much, changing your way? You are even put to shame by Egypt, as you were put to shame by Assyria. “Indeed you will go forth from this place, and with your hands on your head; for YHWH has rejected those you trust, and you shall not prosper in them.” The Wages of the Harlot They say, “If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, can he return to her again? Shall not that land be completely defiled? And you have played the harlot with many lovers, and yet return to Me?” A declaration of YHWH. “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see; where have you not been violated? Along the pathway you have sat for them, like an Arabian in the desert, and you have defiled the land with your prostitution and with your evil. And the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; and yet you had a whorish woman’s forehead; you refuse to be ashamed. Have you not from now called out to Me, ‘My Father, You are the companion of my youth? ‘Will He keep it forever, or will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, and have done the evils as you could.” Judah Follows Israel’s Example And YHWH said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. And I said, after her doing all these things, she will return to Me. And she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And she saw3.8 DSS, one LXX manuscript, and Syriac; MT And I saw that, in spite of all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had sent her away, and had given a writ of divorce to her, and her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, and she went and also she prostituted herself. And it came to pass from the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, that she even defiled the land, and she committed adultery with stones and with trees! Yet in all this, her treacherous sister Judah has not turned back to Me with all her heart, but only falsely,” a declaration of YHWH. A Call to Repentance (Hosea 14:1–3; Zechariah 1:1–6) And YHWH said to me, “Backsliding Israel has proven herself more righteous than treacheous Judah. Go and proclaim these words to the north, and say: ‘Return, O backsliding Israel!’ A declaration of YHWH. ‘I will not cause My face to fall on you⁺, for I am merciful,’ a declaration of YHWH. ‘I will not keep it forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, that against YHWH your God you have transgressed, and you have scattered your ways to strangers under every green tree, and you⁺ have not listened to My voice!’” A declaration of YHWH. “Return, backsliding sons!” A declaration of YHWH. “For I am married to you⁺, and I will take you⁺ one from a city, and two from a family, and I will bring you⁺ to Zion. And I will give to you⁺ shepherds according to My heart, and they will shepherd you⁺ with knowledge and understanding.” “And it will come to pass, when you⁺ have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says YHWH, “That they will not say anymore, ‘The ark of the covenant of YHWH, and it shall not come upon the heart, and they will not remember it, and they will not attend to it—and another will not be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘Throne of YHWH,’ and all the nations will be gathered to her, to the name of YHWH, to Jerusalem, and they will not go anymore after the stubborness of their evil hearts. In those days the house of Judah will walk alongside the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your⁺ fathers. and I said, ‘How I would set you among the sons and give to you a pleasant land, the most beautiful heritage of the beauty of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You will call Me My Father, and from Me not turn away. As surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you⁺ dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel!” A declaration of YHWH. A voice on the barren heights is heard, the weeping and pleadings of the sons of Israel. For they have perverted their way; they have forgotten YHWH their God. “Return, O backsliding sons, I will heal your⁺ backsliding.” “Behold, we do come to You, for You are YHWH our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains! Truly in YHWH our God is the salvation of Israel. And the shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth— their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down and let our shame, and let our disgrace cover us; for we have sinned against YHWH our God, we and our fathers, from our youth and to this day, and we have not listened to the voice of YHWH our God. A Plea to Return “If you would return, O Israel, a declaration of YHWH, to Me you must return!” And if you will put away your abominations from My sight, and no longer waver, and you swear, ‘As YHWH’ lives, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory.” For thus says YHWH to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up for yourself the unplowed ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to YHWH, and turn aside the foreskins of your⁺ heart, O men of Judah and dwellers of Jerusalem, lest My fury should go forth like the fire and burn— with no one to extinguish it— from the face of the evil of your⁺ deeds!” Disaster from the North Declare in Judah and in Jerusalem! Proclaim and say, “Blow the shofar in the land; call out, gather together, and say: ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ Lift up the standard toward Zion! Seek refuge; do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and great destruction. A lion has come up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out! He has gone forth from his place to make your land into a desolation; your cities will be in ruins, without inhabitant. Upon thus gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and wail! For the burning of the anger of YHWH has not turned back from us.” “And it will come to pass in that day,” a declaration of YHWH, “That the heart of the king will perish, and the heart of the princes and shall be devastated; the priests and the prophets will be astounded.” And I said, “Ah, my Lord YHWH! Truly You have greatly decieved this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘There shall be peace for You⁺,’ and the sword reaches as far as the soul. At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: “A dry wind from the barren heights of the wilderness is toward the way of the daughter of My people, not to winnow and not to cleanse— a wind more full than these will come to Me! Even now I speak judgments against them.” Behold, like clouds he shall come up, and his chariots like a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles! Woe to us, for we are ruined! O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall wicked thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim. Make mention to the nations— behold, proclaim over Jerusalem: “Besiegers are coming from a land far away, and they will raise their voice against the cities of Judah. Like those guarding a field, they will be against her all around, because she has rebelled against Me!” A declaration of YHWH. “Your way and your deeds have made these things for you. This is your evil—how bitter it is, how it reaches as far as your heart!” Lamentation for Judah My bowels, my bowels, I writhe in pain, in the walls heart! My heart is roaring within me, I cannot keep silent, for my soul does hear the voice of the shofar, the shout of war. Destruction upon destruction is called out; for all the land is brought to ruin! Suddenly my tents are left in ruins, and my curtains in a moment. How long will I see the standard, and hear the voice of the shofar? “For My people are foolish— they have not known Me! They are foolish children, and they have no understanding! They are wise to do evil, and to do good they do not know. I looked upon the earth, and behold— it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and there was no light in them. I looked upon the mountains, and behold— they began shaking, and all the hills were swaying. I looked, and behold—there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold—the fertile land was a desert, and all its cities were torn down, before YHWH, before the face of the fury of his nose! For thus says YHWH: “All the land will be a desolation; and I will not make a full end. For the earth will mourn, and the heavens above will grow dark; for I have spoken, I have planned, and I will not repent, and I will not turn back from it.” From the voice of the horsemen and the bowman every city is fleeing! They will go into thickets, and go up into the rocks; every city is forsaken, and there is not a man dwelling in them. And you, O devastated one, what are you doing, that you clothe yourself with crimson, that you adorn with ornaments of gold, that you tear open your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself; for you have rejected the ones lusting; they seek your life! For I have heard a voice like a woman in labor, distress like one bearing her first child— the voice of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath; she spreads out her hands: “Woe now to me! For my soul has grown faint before those killing.” No One Is Just “Roam about in the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and take note! And seek in her open squares to see if you⁺ can find a man, if there be any doing justice and seeking the truth, and I will grant forgiveness to her. And if they say ‘As YHWH’ lives,’ surely they swear to a falsehood.” O YHWH, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have struck them, and they have not grieved; You have finished them off; they have refused to receive discipline. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to turn back. And I said, “Surely these are poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of YHWH, the justice of their God. I shall go Myself to the great ones, and will speak to them, for they have known the way of YHWH, the justice of their God.” But they have broken the yoke as one; they have drawn away the bonds. Therefore a lion will strike them down from the forest, a wolf of the desert plains will ravage them; a leopard is keeping watch over their cities— therefore all going out from them will be torn apart, because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are numerous! “How can I grant forgiveness to you for this? Your sons have forsaken Me and have sworn by those not gods. And I satisfied them, and they committed adultery, and in the houses of a harlot they gather themselves together. They were well-fed lusting horses— each man neighing after the wife of his neighbor. Should I not punish over these things,” a declaration of YHWH, “And shall not My soul avenge itself on such a nation as this? Go up among her vine-rows, and ravage them! You shall not make a full end. And take away her branches, for they are not of YHWH. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous with Me,” a declaration of YHWH. They have lied about YHWH and said, “It is not He! And neither will evil come upon us, and we shall not see sword or famine. And the prophets will become as wind; and for the word is not in them; thus shall it be done to them. Judgment Proclaimed Therefore, thus says YHWH God of Hosts: “Because you⁺ speak this word, behold, I will make My words into a fire in your mouth, and this people the wood, and it shall devour them! Behold, I am bringing against you⁺ a nation from afar, O house of Israel,” a declaration of YHWH. “It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose tongue you do not know, and you do not understand what they say. Its quiver is kept open like a grave, all of them are mighty men. And it will consume your harvest and your bread; they will consume your sons and daughters, it will consume your flock and your herd, it will consume your vine and your fig tree; it will beat down with the sword your fortified cities, which you are trusting in them.” “And even, in those days,” a declaration of YHWH, “I will not make of you⁺ a complete end. And it will come to pass when you⁺ say, ‘For what has YHWH our God done all these things to us?’ Then you shall say to them: ‘As you⁺ have forsaken Me and have served foreign gods in your⁺ land, so you⁺ shall serve strangers in a land not unto you⁺.’” Declare this in the house of Jacob, and proclaim it in Judah, saying: “Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; unto them are eyes, and they do not see, unto them are ears, and they do not hear. Do you not fear Me?” A declaration of YHWH. “Or will you⁺ not tremble before My face? For I have placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, a decree forever that it should not cross over it; and they may shake about, and they cannot prevail, and though its waves roar, yet they shall not pass over it. And for this people there is a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away, and they do not say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear YHWH our God, the One giving rain, the spring rain, and the autumn rain in its season, and the weeks appointed for the harvest He keeps for us. Your⁺ iniquities have stretched away these things, and your⁺ sins have withheld the good from you⁺. For wicked ones are found among My people; they keep watch like crouching fowlers; they set a trap; they capture men. Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit; upon thus they have become great and grown rich, they have grown fat; they are sleek. Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; they do not judge justly the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper, and the justice of the needy ones they have not vindicated. Shall I not punish for these things?” A declaration of YHWH, “Should not My soul avenge itself against a nation such as this? An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy with deception, and the priests rule by their own hands; and My people love it so, and what will you⁺ do in the end? Jerusalem’s Final Warning “ Seek refuge, O sons of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! And in Tekoa blow the shofar, and in Beth-haccherem lift up a signal, for disaster looks down from the north, even great destruction! Though a beautiful and delicate woman, I will destroy the daughter of Zion!6.2 Or To a lovely and delicate woman I have likened the Daughter of Zion The shepherds and their flocks shall come to her, and they shall pitch the tents against her all around; they shall pasture, each man with his own hand. ‘Be sanctified for war against her! Arise, and let us go up at noon! Woe to us, for the day turns away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out! Arise and let us go up in the night, and let us destroy her fortresses!’” For thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Cut down trees, and pour out against Jerusalem a siege mound! She is the city to be punished, in her midst all of her of oppression. As a fountain wells up with water, so she has dug up her evil; violence and destruction are heard in her, before My face continually are sickness and wounds. Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest My soul should separate from you, lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited.” Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine— turn back your hand like a grape-gatherer over the branches!” To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they are not able to hear. Behold, the word of YHWH is a reproach to them— they do not take delight in it! Therefore I am full of the fury of YHWH— I grow weary of holding it in! “Pour it out on the sons outside, and on the assembly of young men together! For even the husband with his wife will be captured, the aged with the one full of days. And their houses will be turned over to others, the fields and wives together. For I will stretch out My hand against those dwelling in the land!” A declaration of YHWH. “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, everyone is gaining dishonest gain; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone is dealing falsely. And they have healed the breach of My people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ And there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they did an abomination? No, they were not in any way ashamed— they did not even know how to blush! Therefore they shall fall among those falling; at the time I visit them, they will stumble,” says YHWH. Thus says YHWH: “Stand along the pathways, and see; and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is this good way,’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your⁺ souls. And they said, ‘We will not walk!’ And I set over you⁺ watchmen: ‘Listen to the voice of the shofar!’ And they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I am bringing evil upon this people— the fruit of their thoughts!— Because they have paid no attention to My words; and My law, they have rejected it. For what is this to Me, the frankincense that comes from Sheba and the sweet cane from a land far away? Your⁺ burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your⁺ sacrifices are not sweet to Me.” Therefore thus says YHWH: “Behold, I am giving to this people stumbling blocks, and the fathers and the sons together will stumble over them; and the neighbor and his companion will perish!” An Invasion from the North Thus says YHWH: “Behold, a people is coming from the land of the north, and a great nation shall be roused from the sides of the earth. Bow and spear6.23 Or javelin they hold firmly— they are cruel, and they do not have compassion; their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, arrayed as men for the battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!” We have heard the report of it, our hands grow feeble; distress has taken hold of us, writhing as a woman giving birth. You⁺ shall not go out to the field, and on the road You⁺ shall not walk; because of the sword of the enemy, terror is all around! O Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; make for yourself mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly will come the destroyer upon us! “I have appointed you an examiner among My people like ore,6.27 Or an examiner My people, a fortress that you may know and examine their way. All of them are turning aside, rebelling, walking in slander; they are bronze and iron, they are all acting corruptly. The bellows are burned; by the fire, the lead; in vain has a refiner refined, and the wicked have not been drawn away. They call them rejected silver, because YHWH has rejected them.” Jeremiah’s Message at the Temple Gate The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Stand in the gate of the house of YHWH, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear the word of YHWH, all of Judah who enter these gates to worship before YHWH! Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your⁺ ways and your⁺ deeds, and I will make you⁺ dwell in this place. Do not trust in words of deception, saying, ‘The temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH are they.’ For if you⁺ thoroughly amend your⁺ ways and your⁺ deeds; if you⁺ thoroughly do justice between a man and between his neighbor; if the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, you would not oppress, and innocent blood you would not pour out in this place, and you⁺ would not walk, after other gods to your⁺ own harm, then I will make you⁺ dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your⁺ fathers, from forever and even to forever. Behold, you⁺ keep trusting for yourselves in words of deception that do not profit. Are you stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, and swearing by deception, and burning incense to Baal, and walking after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before My face in this house, over which is called My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—In order to do all these abominations? Has this house, over which is called My name, become a den of robbers in your⁺ eyes? Behold, even I have seen it! A declaration of YHWH. 7.11 Cited in Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46 But go now to My place that is in Shiloh, where I set My name there at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel! And now, because you⁺ have done all these deeds, a declaration of YHWH, and I spoke to you⁺, rising up early and speaking, you would not hear; and I called to you⁺, and you⁺ have not answered. And I will do to this house, on which is called My name, which you⁺ trust in it, and this place that I gave to you⁺ and to your⁺ fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out from before My face, as I have cast out all your⁺ brothers, all the seed of Ephraim. Judah’s Idolatry Persists And you should not pray for this people, and not lift up for them a cry or a prayer, and you should not intercede to Me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger? A declaration of YHWH. Is it not themselves, to the shame of their own faces? Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: Behold, My anger and My fury are being poured out toward this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the tree of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it will burn, and not be extinguished. Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your⁺ burnt offerings to your⁺ sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For I did not speak to your⁺ fathers, and I did not command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But only this thing did I command them, saying: Listen to My voice, and I will be your⁺ God, and you⁺ will be My people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you⁺, that it may go well for you⁺. And they did not listen, and they did not incline their ear, and they walked in the counsels in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and they went backward and not forward. From the day that your⁺ fathers came from the land of Egypt, until this day, I have even sent to you⁺ all My servants the prophets, each day rising up early and sending them. And they did not listen to Me, and they did not incline their ear, and they stiffened their neck—they did worse than their fathers! And you shall speak to them all these words, and they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, and they will not answer you. And you shall say to them: ‘This is a nation that does not listen to the voice of YHWH their God, and it does not receive correction; the truth has perished and is cut off from their mouth. Cut off your consecrated hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the barren heights; for YHWH has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath!’ The Valley of Slaughter For the sons of Judah have done evil in My eyes, a declaration of YHWH; they have set their abominations in the house over which My name is called, to defile it. And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire—which I did not command, and it did not come into My heart! Therefore, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, and it will no longer called Tophet, or the Valley of the son of Hinnom, but instead the Valley of Slaughter, and they will bury in Tophet until there is no room! The corpses of this people will be for food for the birds of the heavens and for the beast of the earth, and there will no one to scare them away. And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride—for the land will be for a desolation.” Judah’s Sin and Punishment “At that time,” a declaration of YHWH, “They shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of those dwelling in Jerusalem, out from their graves. And they will spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of the heavens, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have walked after them, and which they have sought, and which they have bowed down to them. They will not be gathered, and they will be buried; they will be like dung over the face of the land. And they will choose and death over life for all the remant remaining of this evil family, those remaining in all the places where I have driven them!” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts. And you shall say to them, thus says YHWH! “Will they fall, and not rise? Will they turn away, and not return? Why is this people of Jerusalem turned away by a perpetual backsliding? They hold firmly to deceit, they refuse to return. I paid attention and listened; they did not speak what is right; there was no man repenting over his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, like a horse rushing into the battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times, and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush8.7 The precise identification of some of these birds is uncertain. watch over the time of their coming; and My people do not know the judgment of YHWH. How can you⁺ say, ‘We are wise and the law of YHWH is with us?’ Truly behold—in falsehood he made it; the pen of the scribes is false. The wise ones have been put to shame, they are dismayed and captured; behold, they have rejected the word of YHWH— what wisdom is unto them? Therefore I will give their wives to others, and their fields to those possessing them; for from the least and to the greatest, everyone is greedy for dishonest gain; from the prophet and to the priest, everyone deals falsely. And they have healed the breaking of the daughter of My people upon being light, saying, ‘Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they did the abomination? No, they were not ashamed at all, and they did not know how to blush! Therefore they shall fall among those falling; in the time of their punishment, they shall be cast down, says YHWH. Surely I will consume them,’ a declaration of YHWH, no grapes will be on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree; and the leaf is withered, and the things I have given to them pass away from them.” The People Respond Why are we sitting? Gather yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there, for YHWH our God has made us perish, and given us water of gall, because we have sinned against YHWH— looking for peace, and no good has come, and for a time of health, and behold, terror! From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses, the whole land quakes from the voice of the neighing of His mighty ones; and they will come and consume the land and its fullness, the city and those dwelling in it. “For behold, I am sending you⁺ among serpents— vipers that there is not unto them a charm, and they will bite you⁺,” a declaration of YHWH. Jeremiah Weeps for His People My sorrow is beyond healing;8.18 Or O my Comforter in sorrow, My heart is faint within me. Behold! The voice of the outcry of the daughter of my people, from a land far away: “Is YHWH not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked Me with their carved images, with foreign idols?” “The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, and we have not been saved.” Because of the breaking of the daughter of my people, I am broken; I am mourning; dismay has seized me. Is no balm in Gilead? Is a healer not there? Then why does not go up the health of the daughter of my people? A Lament over Zion Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Who will give me in the wilderness a lodging place for travelers, that I might leave my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous ones. “And they bend their tongues like their bow in deception, and they are not mighty for the truth on the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me!” A declaration of YHWH. “Let each man take heed of his neighbor, and in any brother not trust. For every brother does utterly supplant, and every neighbor walks in slander. And each man will deceive his neighbor, and they will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak deception, and they weary themselves to commit iniquity. You dwell9.6 That is, Jeremiah dwells (the Hebrew is singular) in the midst of deceit, for in deceit they refuse to know Me!” A declaration of YHWH. Therefore thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, I am refining them, and I will test them! For how shall I act before the face9.7 LXX because of the wickedness of of the daughter of My people? Their tongue is a slaughtering arrow, speaking deceit; with his mouth he speaks peace to his neighbor, and within himself he sets an ambush. Shall I not visit them for these things? A declaration of YHWH. On a nation such as this shall not My soul avenge itself?” Over the mountains I will take up weeping and wailing, and over the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up without man passing through, and they do not hear the voice of the cattle; from the birds of the heavens even to the beast they have fled; they have gone away. “And I will make Jerusalem into heaps, a dwelling for jackals;9.11 Or serpents or dragons and the cities of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitant.” Who is the wise man that he may understand this? And to whom has the mouth of YHWH spoken, that he may declare it? Because of what has the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, without one passing through? And YHWH said: “Because they have forsaken My law that I had set before their face, and they have not listened to My voice and have not walked by it. And they have walked after the stubborness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them—this people—with wormwood, and give them to drink water of gall! And I will scatter them among the nations that have known, neither they nor their fathers, and I will send out after them a sword, until I have put an end to them! Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Consider, and call for the wailing women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come! And let them hurry and take up for us a lament, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids flow with water. For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! We are exceedingly ashamed, because we have left behind the land, because they have thrown down our dwellings!’” Now hear, O women, the word of YHWH, and let your⁺ ear receive the word of His mouth! And teach your⁺ daughters a lamentation, and each woman her neighbor a dirge! For death has come up into our windows; it enters into our fortresses, to cut off the child from outside, the young men from the squares. Speak thus: A declaration of YHWH— “The corpse of a man will fall like dung upon the face of the field, and like sheaves behind the reaper, and there shall be no one gathering!” Thus says YHWH: “Let not the wise one glory in his wisdom, and let not the mighty one glory in his might, and let not the rich one glory in his riches; that but let the one glorying glory in this, understanding and knowing Me, that I am YHWH, exercising loving devotion,9.24 Cited in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17 justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight!” A declaration of YHWH. 9.24 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant. “Behold, the days are coming,” a declaration of YHWH, “When I will visit upon all the circumcised in the foreskin— upon Egypt, and upon Judah, and upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all those cutting off a corner, those dwelling in the desert; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart. The Sovereignty of God Hear the word that YHWH speaks to you⁺, O house of Israel. Thus says YHWH: “Upon the way of the nations do not train; and do not be dismayed from the signs of the heavens, for the nations are dismayed by them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity! For one cuts down a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter. They are like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, and they do not speak; They must be carried, because they can not step. You should not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, and also to do good is not in them.” There is none like You, O YHWH! You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who does not fear You O King of the nations? Indeed, it is fitting for you! Because among all the wise ones of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, is none like You. But they are altogether senseless and foolish, the teaching of vanities, it is of wood! Beaten Silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a refiner; blue and purple are their clothing, the work of skillful ones—all of them. And YHWH is the true God; He is the living God, and King forever! At His wrath the earth trembles, and the nations cannot endure His indignation. Thus you⁺ shall say to them: “The gods that the heavens and the earth have not made shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.10.11 The original text of this verse is in Aramaic. He has made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He gives forth His voice, a tumult of waters is in the heavens, and He makes the vapors to rise from the end of the earth; He makes the lightning for the rain, and He brings forth the wind from His storehouses. All mankind has become stupid in knowledge! Every refiner is put to shame by an idol; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is not breath in them. They are vanity, a work of errors; in the time of their punishment they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for the Maker of all is He, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance— YHWH of Hosts is His name! The Coming Captivity of Judah Gather up your bundle from the land, O inhabitant of the fortress! For thus says YHWH: “Behold, I am slinging out those dwelling in the land at this time, and I will cause distress for them, so that they are found out!” Woe to me because of my brokenness— my wound is grievous! And I said, “Truly this is a sickness, and I must bear it. My tent is plundered, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone forth from me, and they are no more; there is no one stretching out my tent anymore and raising up my curtains. For the shepherds have become stupid, and they have not sought YHWH! Upon thus they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. The sound of a report! Behold, it is coming— and a great commotion from the land of the north— to appoint the cities of Judah a desolation, a habitation for jackals!10.22 Or serpents or dragons I know, O YHWH, that the way of man is not in himself; not of man is the going and establishing his steps. Discipline me, O YHWH, but with justice— not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. Pour out Your fury on the nations who do not know You, and on the families who do not call on Your name; for they have eaten up Jacob, and have devoured him and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate! The Broken Covenant The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to those dwelling in Jerusalem, and say to them, thus says YHWH God of Israel: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant that I commanded your⁺ fathers in the day I brought them from the land of Egypt, from the furnace iron, saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all that I command you⁺, and you⁺ shall be My people, and I shall be your⁺ God, so that I may establish the oath that I swore to your⁺ fathers, to give to them a land flowing with milk and honey, as this day.” And I answered and said, “Amen, YHWH. And YHWH said to me: “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear the words of this covenant, and do them. For I surely testified against your⁺ fathers in the day I brought them from the land of Egypt, and until this day, rising early and warning, I warned, saying, ‘Listen to My voice.’ And they did not hear, and they did not incline their ear; each man followed in the stubborness of their evil heart. And I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do and they have not done.” And YHWH said to me: “A conspiracy has been found out among the men of Judah, and among those dwelling in Jerusalem! They have turned back to the iniquities of their first fathers, who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them! The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant that I made with their fathers. Therefore, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I am bringing on them calamity that they will not be able to escape from it; and they will call out to Me, and I will not listen to them. And the cities of Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem will go, and they will cry out to the gods to which they offer incense to them; they will not save them at all in the time of their calamity. For to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and the number of the streets of Jerusalem you⁺ have appointed altars of shame—altars for burning incense to Baal! And you—do not pray for this people or lift up for them a cry or prayer; for I will not hear them in the time of their crying out to Me on account of their calamity. What is unto my beloved one in My house, her having done much evil scheming? And the holy flesh has passed over from you; when you are evil, then you rejoice? A green olive tree, lovely and of good fruit, YHWH has called your name l with the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken. And YHWH of Hosts who planted you has spoken evil against you on account of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal. A Plot against Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:18–23) And YHWH has cause me to know, and I know it; then You showed me their deeds. And I was docile like a lamb brought to the slaughter, and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name will not be remembered anymore. And YHWH of Hosts is the One judging in righteousness, examining the kidneys and heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for I have uncovered my dispute to You. Therefore thus says YHWH concerning the men of Anathoth, those seeking your soul, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of YHWH, and you will not die by our hand!— Therefore thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, I will punish them! The young men will die by the sword; their sons and their daughters will die by famine; and there will be no remnant for them! For I will bring disaster to the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment. The Prosperity of the Wicked Righteous are You, O YHWH, when I plead before You; yet I will speak with You of judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do they find repose, all who deal so treacherously? You plant them, and they have taken root; they grow and they bear fruit; You are near, in their mouth and far from their kidneys. And You, O YHWH, know me; You have seen me and have tested my heart toward You. May you pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter! How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those dwelling in it, the beasts and fowl have been swept away— because they said, “He will not see our final end! God’s Answer to Jeremiah “If you have run with those on foot and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And in a land of peace you are trusting— then how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they have called a multitude after you. Do not have faith in them, even though they may speak good things to you! I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage has become for Me like a lion in the forest; she has set against Me with her voice; upon thus I have hated her! Is not My inheritance to Me a speckled bird of prey with the bird of prey12.9 Or a speckled hyena with the bird of prey all around against her? Go gather all the beasts of the field, bring them for food! Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, they have trampled down My portion, they have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made her a desolation; she mourns before Me, desolate; all the land has been made desolate! But no man is setting it upon the heart. Upon all the barren heights in the desert the destroyers have come; for the sword of YHWH is devouring from one end of the land even to the other end of the land! No peace is unto any flesh. They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have wearied themselves; they did not profit. And they have been ashamed of your⁺ produce, because of the burning nose of YHWH.” A Message for Israel’s Neighbors (Amos 1:1–15) Thus says YHWH “Against all my evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I am plucking them from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from their midst! And it will come to pass after I uproot them, that I will return and have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, everyone to his inheritance and everyone to his land. And it will come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘YHWH lives,’ as—they taught My people to swear by Baal—that they will learn they will be built in the midst of My people. And if they will not listen, then I will completely pluck up and destroy that nation! A declaration of YHWH.” The Linen Loincloth Thus said YHWH to me: “Go and acquire for yourself a linen loincloth, and put it around your waist, and you shall not put it in the water. And I acquired a loincloth, according to the word of YHWH, and I put it around my waist. And the word of YHWH came to me a second time, saying: “Take the loincloth that you acquired, which is around your waist, and rise up, go to Perath,13.4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5–7 and hide it there in a cleft of the rock. And I went and hid it in Perath, as YHWH commanded me. And it came to pass after many days that YHWH said to me: “Rise and go to Perath, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there. And I went to Perath and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it there; and behold, the loincloth had been ruined, and it was not profitable for anything. And the word of YHWH came to me, saying: Thus says YHWH: “In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubborness of their heart and walk after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, they shall even become like this loincloth, which is not profitable for anything! Indeed, as a loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made to cling to Me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah, a declaration of YHWH, to become unto Me as people, and for renown, and for praise, and for glory! They would not listen. The Wineskins And you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says YHWH the God of Israel: Every bottle shall be filled with wine.’ And they will say to you ‘Do we not already know this, that every bottle will be filled with wine? And you shall say to them: ‘Thus says YHWH: Behold, I am going to fill all those dwelling in this land, and the kings sitting for David on his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all those dwelling in Jerusalem, with drunkenness. And I will dash them—a man against his brother, and the fathers and the sons together, a declaration of YHWH. I will not spare, and I will not have pity, and I will not have compassion to keep from destroying them.’” Captivity Threatened Listen and give ear! Do not be proud, for YHWH has spoken. Give glory to YHWH your⁺ God before He brings darkness, and before your⁺ feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you⁺ are looking for light, and He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it thick darkness. But if you⁺ will not listen, then in secret My soul will weep from the face of your pride, and will weep bitterly, and My eyes will flow with tears, because the flock of YHWH has been taken captive. Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves, sit down! For from your⁺ heads have fallen the crown of your⁺ splendor!” The cities of the Negev have been shut tight, and there is no one opening them; Judah has been removed, all of her— she has been removed completely! Lift up your⁺ eyes, and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock He gave to you, your beautiful flock? What will you say when He sets over you— and you had taught them to be allies with you—to be head? Will not pangs seize you like a woman in labor? And if you should say in your heart, “Why have these things happened to me?— It is by the abundance of your iniquity that your skirts have been uncovered and your heels have suffered violence. Can the Cushite13.23 Or the Ethiopian; that is, probably a person from the upper Nile region change his skin, or the leopard its spots? Are you⁺ also able do good— you who are accustomed to doing evil. “And I will scatter them like chaff that passes away by the wind of the wilderness. This is your lot, the portion of your measures from Me,” a declaration of YHWH, “Because you have forgotten Me and have trusted in falsehood! Therefore I will strip away your skirts over your face, that your shame may be seen— I have seen your adulteries and your neighings, the wickedness of your prostitution! Your abominations upon the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! After how long will you not be made clean?” Drought, Famine, Sword, and Plague The word of YHWH that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts: “Judah mourns, and her gates languish; they mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. And their nobles have sent their young for water; they went to the cisterns, they did not find water. They returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and humiliated, and they covered their heads. Because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the land, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads. Indeed, even the doe in the field has brought forth— to forsake it because there is no grass. And the wild donkeys stand on the barren heights; they pant for the wind like jackals,14.6 Or serpents or dragons and their eyes fail because there is no grass.” Though our iniquities testify against us, O YHWH, may You act for the sake of Your name! For many are our backslidings; we have sinned against You. O Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of distress, why should You be like a sojourner in the land, and like a traveler who stretches aside to spend the night. Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one not able to save? And You are among us, O YHWH, and we are called by Your name; do not leave us. Thus says YHWH to this people: “Thus have they loved to wander, they have not held back their feet, and YHWH has not accepted them; now He will remember their iniquity and punish them for their sins.” And YHWH said to me: “Do not pray for this people for the good. When they fast, I will not hear to their cry; and when they bring up a burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them—but by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence I will put an end to them! And I said “Ah, Lord YHWH!” Behold, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You⁺ will not see the sword, and there shall be no famine for you⁺; but I will give to you⁺ assured peace in this place.’” And YHWH said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name.” I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and not I have spoken to them. They are prophesying to you⁺ a false vision and divination, and worthlessness, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore, thus says YHWH concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, “When I did not send them, and they say, ‘Sword and famine will not be in this land.’ By sword and by famine those prophets will meet their end! And the people whom they prophesy to them will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and no one will bury them—they and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour their wickedness on them. And you shall speak to them this word: ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and do not let them cease! For the virgin daughter of my people has been wounded with a mighy breach, with a serious blow. If I go out to the field, and behold—those slain by the sword! And if I come into the city, and behold—those sick from famine! How both prophet and priest go about in the land, and they do not know!’” A Prayer for Mercy (Isaiah 63:15–19) Have you completely rejected Judah? Or has Your soul abhorred Zion? Why did You strike us and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there was no good; and for the time of healing, and there was terror! We acknowledge, O YHWH, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You. For the sake of Your name do not spurn us, do not disgrace the throne of Your glory! Remember, do not break Your covenant with us. Are there any among the idols of the nations able to bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O YHWH our God? And we shall wait for You, since You make all these things. Judgment to Continue And YHWH said to me: “Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My soul is not toward this people. Cast them before My face, and let them go away! And it will come to pass, if they say to you ‘Where should we go?’ That you shall say to them, thus says YHWH: ‘Those unto death—unto death, and those unto the sword—unto the sword, and those unto the famine—unto the famine, and those unto captivity—unto captivity!’ 15.2 See Revelation 13:10. And I will appoint over them four kinds, says YHWH: The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, and the bird of the heavens and the beast of the earth to devour and to destroy. And I will set them as a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah—for that which he did in Jerusalem! For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will mourn for you? Or who will turn aside to ask about your well-being? You have forsaken Me, a declaration of YHWH; You have gone backward; and I have stretched out My hand against you, and will destroy you; I am weary of showing compassion. And I will scatter them with a pitchfork at the gates of the land; I will bereave and destroy My people, who have not turned from their ways. Its widows will be more numerous to Me than the sand of the seas; I will bring upon them—against the mother of the young man— a destroyer at noonday, and I will make fall on them suddenly anguish and terror. She languishes who has borne seven; she has breathed her last, her sun has gone down while yet day; she has been ashamed and disgraved. And the remnant of them I will give to the sword, before the face of their enemies, a declaration of YHWH. Jeremiah’s Woe Woe to me, my mother, for you gave birth to me, a man of strife and a man of contention in all the land! I have not lent, and not have they lent on usury to me— all of them curse me. YHWH said “Truly: With your remnant it will be well, truly have I not interceded with the enemy for you in the time of adversity and in the time of distress? Can one break iron— iron from the north—and bronze? Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder without price, even for all your sins, even in all your borders. And I will make you pass over with your enemies into a land15.14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, and Syriac (see also Jeremiah 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts Then I will cause your enemies to bring you into a land that you do not know; for a fire is kindled in My anger that will burn against you⁺.” You—You have known, O YHWH; remember me and attend to me, and take vengeance for me on my pursuers! In Your long-suffering do not take me away; know I have suffered rebuke for Your sake. Your words were found, and I consumed them, and Your word to me was the joy and the gladness of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O YHWH God of Hosts. I did not sit in the counsel of the mockers no rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You will surely be to me like a liar, waters that fail? Yahweh’s Promise Therefore, thus says YHWH: “If you turn back, then I will restore you; you will stand before My face; and if you bring out the precious things from the vile, you will be as My mouth. Let them turn back to you, and you shall not return to them. And I will make you to this people as a wall of fortified bronze; and they shall make war against you, and they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you! A declaration of YHWH. And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked ones, and I will ransom you from the grip of the terrible.” Disaster Predicted And the word of YHWH came to me, saying: “You shall not take for yourself a wife, and not shall there be unto you sons and daughers in this place.” For thus says YHWH concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who begat them in this land: “They will die diseased deaths; they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried; they will be like dung upon the face of the ground, and by the sword and by famine they will be finished off, and their corpses shall be as food for the birds of the heavens and for the beast of the earth.” For thus says YHWH: “Do not enter a house of mourning, and do not go to mourn, and you shall not bemoan them, for I have gathered up My peace away from this people, a declaration of YHWH, even loving devotion and mercies.” “And the great and the small will die in this land; they will not be buried, and no one will mourn for them nor cut themselves nor make themselves bald for them. And no one will break it for them for mourning, to comfort them for the dead, nor give them the cup of consolation to drink for his father or for his mother. And you shall not enter the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and drink. For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am going to make cease from this place before your⁺ eyes, and in your⁺ days, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And it will come to pass, when you declare to this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘For what has YHWH spoken against us all this great evil? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against YHWH our God?’ And you shall say to them ‘Upon that your⁺ fathers have forsaken Me, a declaration of YHWH, and they have walked after other gods, and they have served them and bowed down to them, and they have forsaken Me and have not kept My law. And you⁺ have done worse than your⁺ fathers! And behold, you⁺ are walking, each man after the stubborness of his evil heart, so as to not listen to Me! And I will cast you⁺ from this land, into a land that you have not known—you⁺ and your⁺ fathers. And there you⁺ will serve other gods day and night—where I will not give you⁺ favor!’ God Will Restore Israel Therefore, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, and it will not be said anymore, ‘YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but only, ‘YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands to which He had driven them there.’ And I will bring them back to their land that I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishermen, a declaration of YHWH, and they will catch them; and after this, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them on every mountain and from every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, and their iniquity is not hidden from before My eyes! And first I will repay double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcass of their detestable and abominable things!” O YHWH, my strength and my fortress and My refuge in the day of distress— the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness—and no profit is in them! Can man make gods for himself? And they are not gods!” “Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, in this moment I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they will know that My name is YHWH. The Sin and Punishment of Judah “ The sin of Judah is written with a stylus of iron; with the nail of a diamond it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart and on the horns of your⁺ altars, while their sons remember their altars and their Asherah poles, by the green trees on the high hills. O My mountain in the field, I will give your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, your high places of sin within all your borders! And you shall let go—even you— of your inheritance that I gave to you. And I will make you serve your enemies in the land that you have not known. For you⁺ have kindled a fire in My nose; it will burn even to forever!” Thus says YHWH: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his arm and turns away his heart from YHWH. 17.5 that is, his strength And he shall be like a shrub in the desert plain, and he shall not see when good comes, and he shall dwell in the parched places in the desert, in a salt land without dweller. Blessed is the man who trusts in YHWH, and his hope is YHWH. And he shall be planted like a tree by the waters, and which by the river sends out its roots; and it does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaf will be green, and in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it will not leave off from producing fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick— who can know it? I, YHWH, am the One searching the heart and testing the kidneys, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. As a partridge that broods and not having brought forth, is one making riches and not with justice; in the midst of his days it will leave him, and at his end he will become a fool.” Jeremiah’s Prayer for Deliverance A throne of glory on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. O YHWH, the Hope of Israel, all those forsaking You will be put to shame— (and those turning away from Me will be written in the earth). For they have forsaken YHWH, the fountain of Living waters. Heal me, O YHWH, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise. Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of YHWH? Let it come now. And I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You, and I have not desired the day of despair; You know that which came out of my lips, for it was before Your face. Be not a terror to me; You are my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded who pursue me, and do not let me be ashamed; let them be dismayed; let me not be dismayed! Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction! Restoring the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15–22) Thus said YHWH to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, by which the kings of Judah enter into it, and by which they go out of it, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. And you shall say to them: ‘Hear the word of YHWH, O kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all those dwelling in Jerusalem who enter by these gates. Thus says YHWH: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day to bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. You shall not bring out a load from your⁺ houses on the Sabbath day, and you⁺ shall not do any work, and keep holy the Sabbath day, as I commanded your⁺ fathers. They did not listen and they did not incline their ear, and they stiffened their neck, that they would not hear, and they would not receive discipline. And it will come to pass, if you⁺ listen carefully to Me, a declaration of YHWH, and do not bring in a load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and consecrate the Sabbath day to not do any work on it, then will come into the gates of this city kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, with the men of Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem; and this city will abide forever. They will come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah17.26 Or foothills or lowlands; that is, the western foothills of Judea and the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of YHWH. And if you⁺ will not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day and not to carry a load and enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.’” The Potter and the Clay The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words. And I went down to the potter’s house, and behold—he was making a work at the wheel. And the vessel that he was making with the clay was marred in the hand of the potter; and he went back and he made it into another vessel, as seemed right in the eyes of the potter to make. The word of YHWH came to me, saying: O house of Israel, “Can I not do to you⁺ as this potter?, A declaration of YHWH. Behold, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you⁺ in My hand, O house of Israel. The moment I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to uproot and to tear down and to destroy, and if that nation turns back from its evil, about which I have spoken against, then I will relent concerning the evil that I thought to bring upon it. And the moment I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, and if it does evil in My eyes so that it does not listen to My voice, then I will relent concerning the good that I had said I would benefit them. And now speak, please, to the men of Judah and to those dwelling in Jerusalem, saying, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I am fashioning against you⁺ a disaster and devising against you⁺ a plan! Return now, each man from his evil way, and make good your⁺ ways and your⁺ deeds.’ And they said, ‘It is hopeless! For according to our own plans we will walk, and each man will do the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” Therefore, thus says YHWH: “Ask, please, among the nations, who has heard these things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. Does it leave its rocky slopes— the snow of Lebanon? Or from a distance be forsaken the cold flowing waters? Yet My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to a vain thing; and they made them stumble in their ways, the paths of old, to walk in sideroads of the way, and not raised up, to make their land desolate, an everlasting hissing; all passing by it will be astonished and will nod at it with his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; and I will show them the back and not the face, in the day of their calamity!” Another Plot against Jeremiah (Jeremiah 11:18–23) And they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, and counsel from the wise, and the word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue, and we will not pay attention to any of his words! Pay attention, O YHWH, to me, and listen to the voice of my opponents! Shall evil be repaid for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn away Your wrath from them. Therefore give over their children to the famine, and pour out by the hand of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows, and let their men be put to death, and their young men struck down by the sword in the battle! Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You bring upon them raiders suddenly! For they have dug a pit to capture me, and snares they have hidden for my feet. And You, O YHWH, know all their counsel against me to kill me. And do not cover over their iniquity, and do not blot out their sin from before Your face; and let them be overthrown before Your face. In the time of Your anger, deal against them. The Broken Jar Thus says YHWH: “Go and acquire from a potter a clay jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the Gate of the Potsherd, and proclaim there the words that I speak to you. And you shall say, ‘Hear the word of YHWH, O kings of Judah and dwellers of Jerusalem! Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold! I am bringing such disaster on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle, because that they have forsaken Me and made foreign this the place and burned incense in it to other gods, whom they have not known—they and not their fathers and not the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocents! And they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal—which I did not command and did not speak, and it did not come upon My heart! Therefore, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, that this place will no longer be called Tophet, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but instead the Valley of the Slaughter. And I will ruin19.7 The Hebrew term for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar; see verses 1 and 10. the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before the face of their enemies and by the hands of those seeking their soul, and I will give their carcass as food for the bird of the heavens and for the beast of the earth! And I will set this city as a desolation and a hissing;19.8 That is an object of scorn all passing by her will be astonished and will hiss over all her wounds. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and each man shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies shall press against them and those seeking their soul!’ And you shall break the flask before the eyes of the men who go with you. And you shall say to them—thus says YHWH of Hosts: Like this I will break this people and this city, just like one breaks a potter’s vessel, which is not able to be made whole again; and in Tophet they shall bury them, until there is no place to bury. Thus I will do to this place, a declaration of YHWH, and to its dwellers, so as to give this city to be like Tophet! And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah will be like the place of Tophet, the defiled place, even all the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to all the host of the heavens and poured out drink offerings to other gods. And Jeremiah came from Tophet, where YHWH had sent him there to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of YHWH and said to all the people, “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing on this city and on all her towns all the disaster that I have spoken against her, because they have stiffened their necks, that they might not hear My words.’” Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah And Pashhur son of Immer the priest heard (and he was governor chief in the house of YHWH) Jeremiah prophesying these things. And Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and he put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, that was at the house of YHWH. And it came to pass on the next day, that Pashhur brought out Jeremiah from the stocks, and Jeremiah said to him, “YHWH has not called your name Pashhur, but rather Magor-missabib.20.3 Magor-missabib means terror on every side or the man who lives in terror. For thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it! And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them off to Babylon and strike them with the sword. And I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its produce, and all its precious things, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah—I will give it into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them and seize them and bring them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all those dwelling in your house, shall go into captivity; and to Babylon you will go, and there you will die, and there you will be buried—you and all you love, whom you have prophesied to them lies!’” Jeremiah’s Complaint You have persuaded me O YHWH, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day, and everyone is mocking at me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’ For the word of YHWH has become to me as a reproach and as a derision all the day. And I said, “I will not mention Him and I will not speak anymore in His name. And it is in my heart burning like a fire, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of containing it, and I cannot prevail. For I heard the whispering of many, terror from every side: “Report, and let us report him! Every man close to me was watching for my stumbling, “Perhaps he can be persuaded, so that we may prevail against him, and we will take our vengeance on him! And YHWH is with me as a mighty awesome one! For thus my pursuers will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed; indeed they will not succeed— everlasting disgrace will not be forgotten. And YHWH of Hosts, the One testing the righteous, the One seeing the kidneys and mind, let me see Your vengeance on them! For to you I have uncovered my dispute. Sing to YHWH! Praise YHWH! For He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evildoers. Cursed be the day in which I was born, the day that my mother bore me—do not let it be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought news to my father, saying, “A male child has been born to you, bringing him great joy. And let that man be like the cities that YHWH overthrew, and did not relent; and let him hear an outcry in the morning, and a battle cry at noon! Because he did not kill me from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb pregnant forever. Why is this—that from the womb I came forth to see trouble and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? Jerusalem Will Fall to Babylon The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, by King Zedekiah sending to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, saying: “Inquire for us, please, of YHWH, for Nebuchadnezzar21.2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon), which occurs frequently in Jeremiah. The latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency. king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps YHWH will deal with us according to all His wonderful deeds, and he will go away from us. And Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you⁺ shall say to Zedekiah: Thus says YHWH God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to turn back the weapons of war that are in your⁺ hands, with which you⁺ will be fighting against the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans21.4 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 9 setting up siege against you⁺ from outside the walls. And I will gather them in the midst of this city. And I will fight against you⁺ with an outstretched hand and with a mighty arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will strike those dwelling in this city, both man and beast; by a great pestilence they will die!’ ‘And after thus,’ a declaration of YHWH, ‘I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those left over in this city from the pestilence and from the sword and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul. And he will strike them with the mouth of the sword; he will not spare them, and he will not have pity, and he will not have compassion. And to this people you shall say, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I am setting before you⁺ the way of the life and the way of the death. The one staying settled in this city will die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; and the one going out and falling away to the Chaldeans that besiege you⁺, and he even shall live, and his soul will be to him as a prize. For I have set My face against this city for evil and not for good—a declaration of YHWH. Into the hand of the king of Babylon it will be given, and he will burn it with fire. A Message to the House of David And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of YHWH! O house of David, thus says YHWH: ‘Judge with justice in the morning, and deliver the one plundered from the hand of the oppressor, lest My fury go forth and burn like the fire, so that no one can quench it— because of the evil of your⁺ deeds. Behold, I am against you, a declaration of YHWH, O dweller of the valley, O rock of the plain, who say, “Who shall come down against us or who shall come into our dwellings? And I will attend to you⁺ according to the fruit of your⁺ deeds, a declaration of YHWH, and I will kindle a fire in its forest, and it will devour all around it!’” A Warning to Judah’s Kings Thus says YHWH: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word. And you shall say, ‘Hear the word of YHWH, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter at these gates. Thus says YHWH: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one plundered, from the hand of the oppressor. And do no wrong, and do no violence to the sojourner and the fatherless and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you⁺ will indeed carry out this word, then shall enter in the gates of this house kings sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—he and his servants and his people. And if you⁺ do not hear these words, I swear by Myself, a declaration of YHWH, that this house will become as a desolation!’” A Warning about the Palace For thus says YHWH to the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to Me, the head of Lebanon; if not, I will make you a desert, with cities not inhabited. And I will prepare against you destroyers, and each man with his weapons; and they will cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations will pass by this city, and each man will say to his neighbor, ‘Upon what has YHWH done thus to this great city? And they will say, ‘Upon that they have forsaken the covenant of YHWH their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’” A Warning about Shallum Do not weep for the one who is dead, and do not bemoan him. Weep bitterly for the one going away, because he will not return again and see the land of his birth. For thus says YHWH concerning Shallum22.11 Shallum was also called Jehoahaz. son of Josiah king of Judah, the one reigning in place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place: “He shall not return here anymore. But in the place where they have led him captive, there he shall die, and this land he shall not see anymore.” A Warning about Jehoiakim “Woe to the one building his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who by his neighbor gains service for nothing and for his work gives nothing to him, the one saying, ‘I will build for myself a large house, and with spacious upper rooms, and he cuts out windows for it, and paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion.’ Shall you reign because you enclose yourself22.15 Or because you excel in cedar? Did your father not eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is this not to know Me?” A declaration of YHWH. “Yet your eyes and your heart are on nothing for but upon your dishonest gain, and upon to shed innocent blood, and upon oppression, and upon to do violence!” Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, ‘Alas my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his majesty!’ With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem! Go up to Lebanon and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry out from Abarim— for all your lovers are destroyed! I spoke to you in your prosperity, you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This is your way from your youth, that you would not listen to My voice. The wind will shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity; surely then you will feel shame and be humiliated from all your evil. O dweller of Lebanon,22.23 That is, of the palace in Jerusalem; see 1 Kings 7:2. nesting in the cedars— how you will groan when pains come upon you, writhing like a woman in labor!” A Warning to Coniah “As I live,” a declaration of YHWH, “Even If Coniah22.24 Coniah is a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28. son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, yet from there I would tear you off, and I would give you into the hand of those seeking your soul, and into the hand of those whose face you fear, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans!22.25 That is, the Babylonians And I will cast you out—and your mother who gave birth to you—upon another land, where you were not born there; and there you⁺ shall die. And upon the land to which they are lifting up their souls to return there, to there they shall not return. Is this man Coniah a despised and broken vessel, or a vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his seed, and cast into a land that they do not know? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of YHWH! Thus says YHWH: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; indeed, none of his seed shall prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule anymore in Judah.” David’s Righteous Branch “Woe to the shepherds destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! A declaration of YHWH. Therefore, thus says YHWH God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd My people: “You⁺ have scattered My flock and driven them away, and you⁺ have not attended to them. Behold, I am going to attend to you⁺ for the evil of your⁺ deeds! A declaration of YHWH. And I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have driven them there, and I will bring them back to their pastures, and they shall be fruitful and shall multiply. And I will raise up over them shepherds who will shepherd them, and they will not fear anymore, nor be dismayed, and they will not be lacking, a declaration of YHWH. Behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, when I will raise up for David23.5 Or up for David’s line a Branch of Righteousness, and a King shall reign who will deal wisely, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in security; and this is his name that He will be called: YHWH Tsidqenu.23.6 YHWH Tsidqenu means THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS Therefore, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, and they will no longer say, ‘YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt; but instead ‘YHWH lives, who brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel from the north country, and from all the lands to which I had driven them there,’ and they will dwell upon their own land. Lying Prophets Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man overcome by wine, from the face of YHWH and from the face of His holy words. For the land is filled with adulterers, and the land mourns because of the face of the curse, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up; and their course has come to be evil, and their strength is not right. “For both prophet and priest are polluted, and even in My house I have found their evil!” A declaration of YHWH. “Therefore their way shall be for them as slippery; into the darkness they will be driven away and fall in it! For I will bring on them disaster, the year of their punishment,” a declaration of YHWH. “And among the prophets of Samaria I have seen folly: They prophesied by Baal, and led astray My people Israel. And I have seen a horrible thing among the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in deception, and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that a man does not turn back from his evil; all of them have become to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah!” Therefore, thus says YHWH of Hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall! For from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone forth into all the land.” Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you⁺. They make you⁺ vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not from the mouth of YHWH. They keep saying to those despising Me, ‘YHWH has said you⁺ will have peace.’ And as for everyone walking in the stubbornness of his heart, they say, ‘Evil shall not come upon you⁺.’ But who has stood in the counsel of YHWH, and has perceived and has heard His word? Who has paid attention to His word, and has heard it? Behold, the tempest of YHWH in fury goes forth, and a whirling tempest swirling down upon on the head of the wicked. The nose of YHWH will not turn back until He has done it, and until He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the following days you⁺ will understand it clearly. I have not sent these prophets, and they have run; I have not spoken to them, and they have prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from the evil of their way and from the evil of their deeds.” “Am I a God nearby,” a declaration of YHWH, “And not a God far away?” “Can a man hide himself in the hidden places, and I shall not see him?” A declaration of YHWH. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” A declaration of YHWH. “I have heard what the prophets say, those prophesying in My name deception, saying, ‘I have dreamed! I have dreamed! How long will it be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? And indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who are devising to make My people forget My name by their dreams that tell, a man to his neighbor, just as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. The prophet with whom is a dream, let him recount the dream, and with whom is My word, let him speak My word in faithfulness. What is the chaff to the wheat?” A declaration of YHWH. “Is it not thus, My word is like the fire,” a declaration of YHWH, “And like a hammer that dashes a rock?” “Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets,” a declaration of YHWH, “Those stealing My words, each man from his neighbor.” “Behold, I am against the prophets—” says YHWH—“Those taking their own tongues, and prophesying, ‘His utterance.” “Behold, I am against those prophesying False dreams,” a declaration of YHWH, “And they recount them and lead astray My people by their lies and by their recklessness; and I did not send them and did not command them, and there shall not be profit for this people,” a declaration of YHWH. False Prophecies “And when this people, or the prophet, or the priest asks you, ‘Saying, What is the oracle of YHWH?’ Then you shall say to them ‘What oracle? And I will forsake you⁺, a declaration of YHWH.’ And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, who say, ‘The oracle of YHWH,’ even I will visit punishment upon that man and upon his house. Thus you⁺ shall say, everyone to his neighbor and everyone to his brother, ‘What has YHWH answered, and what has YHWH spoken?’ And the burden of YHWH you shall not mention anymore, for each man’s word will be the burden, and you⁺ have overturned the words of the living God, YHWH of Hosts, our God. Thus you shall say to the prophet: ‘What has YHWH answered you, and what has YHWH spoken?’ And if you⁺ say, ‘The burden of YHWH,’ therefore thus says YHWH: Because you⁺ say ‘This word is the burden of YHWH,’ and I sent to you⁺ saying, you shall not say, ‘The burden of YHWH,’ therefore, behold, I will also utterly forget you⁺, and I will cast away you⁺ and the city that I gave to you⁺ and to your⁺ fathers—from before My face, and I will bring upon you⁺ reproach forever and shame forever that will never be forgotten. The Good and Bad Figs YHWH has shown me—and behold—two baskets of figs set before the temple of YHWH, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had removed Jeconiah24.1 Jeconiah is a variant of Jehoiachin; see 2 Kings 24:12. son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.24.1 Or metalsmiths, and had brought them from Jerusalem to Babylon One basket had very good figs like the figs first ripe, and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten for badness. “And YHWH said to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs—the good figs are very good, and the bad are very bad, which could not be eaten for badness.” And again the word of YHWH came to me, saying: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard the captive of Judah, whom I sent forth from this place into the land of the Chaldeans24.5 That is, the Babylonians for good. And I will set My eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; and I will build them and not tear down, and I will plant them and not uproot. And I will give to them a heart to know Me, that I am YHWH; and they will be unto Me a people, and I will be unto them God, for they will return to Me with all their heart. And like the bad figs, which cannot be eaten for badness, surely’ thus says YHWH: ‘So will I give over Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem remaining in this land, and those dwelling in the land of Egypt. And I will give them for a horror and an offense into all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them there. And I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until they are finished off from the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.’” Seventy Years of Captivity The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, saying: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, even to this day—this is the third and twentieth year—the word of YHWH came to me, and I have spoken to you⁺, rising early and speaking, and you⁺ have not listened. And YHWH has sent to you⁺ all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, and you⁺ have not listened and you⁺ have not inclined your⁺ ear to hear— saying, ‘Repent now, each man from his evil way, and from the evil of his deeds, and dwell in the land that YHWH has given to you⁺ and to your⁺ fathers, from forever and even to forever. And do not go after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your⁺ hands; and I will not bring evil to you⁺.’ ‘And you⁺ have not listened to Me,’ a declaration of YHWH, ‘So you have provoked Me to anger by the works of your⁺ hands, to bring evil to yourselves. Therefore, thus says YHWH of Hosts: ‘Because that you have not heard My words, behold, I am sending forth and I have taken all the families of the north, a declaration of YHWH, and unto Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant. And will bring them against this land and against its dwellers and against all these surrounding nations, and I will devote them to destruction,25.9 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. and I will give them for a horror and for a hissing and for desolations forever! And I will make perish from them the voice of joy 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. And all this land will become as a desolation, as a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it will come to pass, at the completing of seventy years, that I will visit punishment upon the king of Babylon, upon that nation, a declaration of YHWH, for their iniquity, and upon the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it as a desolation forever. 25.12 That is, the Babylonians And I will bring upon that land all My words that I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied concerning all the nations. For shall be served by them—even them—even many nations and great kings; and I will repay to them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.’” The Cup of God’s Wrath For thus said YHWH God of Israel to me: “Take the wine of the cup of this fury from My hand, and cause all the nations to drink it, to whom I am sending you. And they will drink it and stagger about and go raving from the face of the sword that I am sending among them. And I took the cup from the hand of YHWH and made all the nations drink from it to whom YHWH had sent me: Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, a horror, a hissing, and a curse—as at this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mixed multitude, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines—and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod— Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the islands that are across the sea, and Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all in the cut off corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed multitude dwelling in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, those near and those far, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the earth that are on the face of the earth, and the king of Sheshach25.26 Sheshach is a code name for Babylon. shall drink after them. And you shall say to them, “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Drink and become drunk, and vomit, and fall, and you⁺ shall stand no more before the face of the sword that I am sending among you⁺.’ And it will come to pass, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, that you shall say to them, thus says YHWH of Hosts: ‘You shall surely drink! For behold, upon the city that is called by My name, I am beginning to bring evil, and you⁺, will you⁺ at all be cleared? You⁺ will not be cleared of guilt. For I am calling for a sword upon all those dwelling in the earth! A declaration of YHWH of Hosts.’ And you must prophesy against them all these words, and you are to say to them: ‘YHWH will roar from on high, and from His holy habitation He will give forth His voice; He will roar loudly against His habitation, a shout as of treaders He will give forth unto all those dwelling in the earth. An uproar will come as far as the ends of the earth; for unto YHWH is a dispute with the nations, He executes judgment for all flesh, and He will give the wicked to the sword!’” A declaration of YHWH. Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, disaster goes forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is raised up from the sides of the earth. And those slain by YHWH shall be on that day from one end of the earth and to the other end of the earth; They will not be mourned, and not gathered, and not buried—they will be like dung upon the face of the ground! The Cry of the Shepherds Wail, O shepherds, and cry out; and roll, O leaders of the flock! For the days of your⁺ slaughter are fulfilled— and of your⁺ dispersions—and you⁺ will fall like a precious vessel.25.34 Hebrew; LXX and you will fall like the choice rams And the place of refuge will perish from the shepherds, and of escape from the leaders of the flock— A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the leaders of the flock! For YHWH has spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are silenced before the face of the burning nose of YHWH. He leaves His lair like the lion, for their land has become as a desolation before the face of the fierceness25.38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and LXX (see also Jeremiah 46:16 and Jeremiah 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger of the Oppressor, and from the face of the fierceness anger. A Warning to the Cities of Judah In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from YHWH, saying: “Thus says YHWH: Stand in the courtyard of the house of YHWH and speak over all the cities of Judah who are coming in to worship at the house of YHWH all the words that I command you to speak to them. You shall not restrain a word! Perhaps they will listen and turn, each from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the disaster that I am planning to bring on them because of the evil of their deeds. And you shall say to them, thus says YHWH: ‘If you⁺ do not listen to Me, to walk in My law that I have set before you⁺, to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I am sending to you⁺, rising up early and sending them—and you⁺ have not listened— then I will give this house to be like Shiloh, and I will give this city to be a curse for all the nations of the earth. Jeremiah Threatened with Death And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of YHWH. And it came to pass, as Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that YHWH had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests, and the prophets, that all the people captured him, saying, “You must surely die! Why have you prophesied in the name of YHWH, saying that this house will become like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate without one dwelling there?” And all the people gathered against Jeremiah in the house of YHWH. And the princes of Judah heard these things, and they came up from the house of the king to the house of YHWH, and they sat down in the entrance of the New Gate of YHWH. And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying: “This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you⁺ have heard with your⁺ own ears. And Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying: “YHWH sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you⁺ have heard. And now, amend your⁺ ways and your⁺ deeds, and obey the voice of YHWH your⁺ God, and YHWH will relent concerning the disaster that He has spoken against you⁺. And I am here in your⁺ hand, you may do to me as is good and right in your⁺ eyes. Only know for certain that if you⁺ put me to death, that you⁺ are bringing on yourselves innocent blood—and on this city and on its dwellers; for in truth YHWH has sent me to you⁺ to speak in your⁺ ears all these words. Jeremiah Spared from Death And the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, “This man is not worthy of death, for in the name of YHWH our God he has spoken to us. And rose up certain elders of the land, and they spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: “Micah the Moreshethite was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, thus says YHWH of Hosts: ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the temple as the high places of the forest.26.18 Micah 3:12 Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone in Judah in any way put him to death? Did he not fear YHWH and seek the favor of YHWH? And YHWH relented concerning the disaster that He had spoken against them. And we are doing great evil against our souls!” The Prophet Uriah And also there was a man prophesying in the name of YHWH, Urijah son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim, and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. And the king Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the princes heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. And Urijah heard and was afraid, and he fled and went in to Egypt. And king Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt—Elnathan son of Achbor and men with him—to Egypt, and they brought out Urijah from Egypt and brought him to king Jehoiakim, and he killed him with the sword and cast his corpse into the graves of the sons of the people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so as not to give to him into the hand of the people to put him to death. The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah27.1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also verses 3 and 12, and Jeremiah 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah this word came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying:27.1 Most LXX manuscripts do not include this verse. Thus says YHWH to me: “Make for yourself bonds and yokes, and put them upon your neck. And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the hand of the messengers having come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. And command them toward their masters to say: Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel; thus you⁺ shall say to your⁺ masters: I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the face of the earth, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I have given it to those whom it seemed right in My eyes. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and also the beasts of the field I have given to him to serve him. And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and the son of his son, until the time of his own land comes—even it. And many nations and great kings will enslave him. And it will come to pass that the nation and the kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon—with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence I will punish that nation, a declaration of YHWH, until I have finished them by his hand. And you⁺, do not listen to your⁺ prophets, and to your⁺ diviners, and to your⁺ dreamers, and to your⁺ soothsayers, and to your⁺ sorcerers, whom they speak to you⁺, saying: ‘You⁺ shall not serve the king of Babylon. For they prophesy a lie to you⁺ so as to remove you⁺ far from your⁺ land; and I will drive you⁺ out, and you⁺ will perish. And the nation that brings their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, then will I let them rest upon their own land,” a declaration of YHWH, and they shall work it and dwell in it. And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke 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. Why should you⁺ die—you and your people—by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as YHWH has spoken against the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? And do not 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⁺. For I have not sent them, a declaration of YHWH, and they prophesy a lie in My name, that I might drive you⁺ out and you⁺ may perish—you⁺ and the prophets prophesying to you⁺.” And to the priests and to all this people, I spoke, saying: “Thus says YHWH: Do not listen to the words of your⁺ prophets prophesying to you⁺, saying: ‘Behold, the vessels of the house of YHWH now shortly will be brought back from Babylon!’ For they are prophesying a lie to you⁺. Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be laid waste? And if they are prophets, and if the word of YHWH is with them, let them intercede now with YHWH of Hosts that the vessels remaining in the house of YHWH and in the house of the king of Judah in Jerusalem not go to Babylon. For thus says YHWH of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the Sea, and concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he removed Jeconiah27.20 Jeconiah is a variant of Jehoiachin; see 2 Kings 24:12. son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon—and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels remaining in the house of YHWH, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and they shall be there until the day I attend to them, a declaration of YHWH, ‘And I will bring them up, and I will restore them to this place.’” Hananiah’s False Prophecy And it came to pass in that year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of YHWH before the face of the priests and all the people, saying: “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the house of YHWH that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. And Jeconiah28.4 Jeconiah is a variant of Jehoiachin; see 2 Kings 24:12. son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah and all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon I will bring back to this place’—a declaration of YHWH—‘For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon!’” And Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Hananiah the prophet before the face of the priests and before the face of all the people who stood in the house of YHWH, and Jeremiah the prophet said: “Amen! So may YHWH do it! May YHWH perform your words that you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the house of YHWH, and all the captive, from Babylon to this place.” Nevertheless, hear now this word that I am speaking in your ears and in the ears of all the people. The prophets who have been before me and before you from of old, even they prophesied to many lands and over great kingdoms regarding war and disaster and pestilence. The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, that prophet will be known as one whom YHWH truly has sent. And Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. And Hananiah spoke before the face of all the people, saying: “Thus says YHWH—‘Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from the neck of all the nations!’” And Jeremiah the prophet went on his way. And came the word of YHWH to Jeremiah After Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying: Thus says YHWH—‘You have broken yokes of wood, and you have fashioned in their place yokes of iron! For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘A yoke of iron I have put on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him. And also I have given the beast of the field to him.’” And Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet: “Hear now, Hananiah! YHWH has not sent you, and you have made this people to trust in a lie! Therefore, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I am going to cast you from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have taught rebellion against YHWH.’” And Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month. Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had removed from Jerusalem to Babylon (after the going forth of Jeconiah29.2 Jeconiah is a variant of Jehoiachin; see 2 Kings 24:12. the king, and the queen mother, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, from Jerusalem). By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Babylon, saying: Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captive ones, whom I caused to be removed from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and dwell, and plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take for your⁺ sons wives, and your⁺ daughters give to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters and multiply there, so that you⁺ shall not decrease. And seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you⁺ to be removed, and pray on its behalf to YHWH for in its peace, there shall be unto you⁺ peace.” For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Do not let your⁺ prophets and your⁺ diviners that are among you⁺ deceive you⁺, and do not listen to your⁺ dreams that you⁺ cause to be dreamed. For falsely they prophesy to you⁺ in My name; I have not sent them, a declaration of YHWH.”29.9 Some translators close the written portion of this letter later in the chapter. For thus says YHWH: “Surely after seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you⁺ and perform My good word over you⁺, to make you⁺ return to this place. For I know the plans that I think toward you⁺, a declaration of YHWH, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you⁺ a future and a hope. And you⁺ will call Me and will go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you⁺. And you⁺ will seek Me and you⁺ will find, when you⁺ search for Me with all your⁺ heart. And I will be found by you⁺, a declaration of YHWH, and I will turn back your⁺ captivity, and I will gather you⁺ from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you⁺ there, a declaration of YHWH, and I will bring you⁺ to the place from which I caused you⁺ to be carried away captive from there. 29.14 Or restore your fortunes Because you⁺ have said, “YHWH has raised up for us prophets in Babylon, surely thus says YHWH concerning the king sitting on the throne of David, and concerning all the people dwelling in this city and your⁺ brothers who have not gone out with you⁺ into captivity— thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten for badness. And I will pursue after them with the sword, with famine, and with the pestilence, and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and as a horror, and as a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations to which I have driven them there. Because that they did not listen to My words, a declaration of YHWH, Which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending, and you would not listen! A declaration of YHWH.” And you⁺, hear the word of YHWH, all of the captivity whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, those prophesying to you⁺ a lie in My name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your⁺ eyes! And because of them shall be taken up a curse for all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying: ‘May YHWH make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! Because that they have done folly in Israel and have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and have spoken false words in My name, which I have not commanded them. And I am the One knowing, and a witness, a declaration of YHWH.” The Message to Shemaiah And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying: Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying: “Because that you have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,29.25 That is, saying to Zephaniah ‘YHWH has made you priest in place of Jehoiada the priest, that you should be officers in the house of YHWH over every man who is mad and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. And now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite, who is making himself a prophet to you⁺? For upon thus he has sent to us in Babylon, saying it is long, build houses and dwell, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’” And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying: “Send to all those of the captivity, saying, thus says YHWH concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you⁺, and I have not send him, and he has made you⁺ trust in a lie, therefore thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I will attend to Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family. There shall not be unto him a man dwelling in the midst of this people, and he shall not see the good that I am going to do for My people, a declaration of YHWH, because he has spoken rebellion against YHWH. The Restoration of Israel and Judah (Ezekiel 28:25–26) The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Thus speaks YHWH God of Israel, saying: ‘Write for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. For, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, when I turn back the captivity30.3 Or restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah—says YHWH—and I will return them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’” And these are the words that YHWH spoke concerning Israel and Judah. For thus says YHWH: “We have heard a voice of trembling, of dread and not of peace. Ask now, and see, can a male give birth? Why have I seen every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces have turned pale? Alas, for great is that day, so that none is like it! And a time of distress it is for Jacob, and he will be saved from it. And it will come to pass on that day, a declaration of YHWH of Hosts— that I will break his yoke from your neck, and your bonds I will burst, and no longer will strangers enslave him. And they shall serve YHWH their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. And you, do not fear, My servant O Jacob, a declaration of YHWH, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I am saving you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob will return and have quiet, and he will find rest, and no one will make him afraid. For I am with you, a declaration of YHWH, to save you. Though I make a full end of all the nations to which I have scattered you there, yet of you I will not make a full end, and I will discipline you with justice, and I will not leave you unpunished.” For thus says YHWH: “Your breach is incurable; your wound is grievous. There is no one pleading your cause, that you may be bound up. Unto you are no healing medicines. All your lovers have forgotten you; they do not seek you. For with the wound of an enemy I have struck you, the disciplining of a cruel one, over the multitude of your iniquities; your sins are numerous. Why do you cry out concerning your breach? Your pain is incurable. Concerning the multitude of your iniquities, your sins are numerous; I have done these things to you. Therefore all those devouring you will be devoured; and all your adversaries, all of them, will go into captivity, and those plundering you will be as plunder, and all preying upon you I will give as prey. For I will bring up health to you, and I will heal you from your wounds, a declaration of YHWH; for they called you an outcast: This is Zion; no one is searching for her.” Thus says YHWH: “Behold, I will turn back the captivity30.18 Or restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and on his dwelling places I will have compassion; and the city will be rebuilt upon its own mound, and the palace will sit according to its ordinance. And from them shall go forth thanksgiving and the voice of those being glad; and I will multiply them and they will not be diminished, and I will glorify them and they will not be small. And their children will be as aforetime, and their congregation will be established before Me, and I will punish upon all those oppressing them. And their noble will be from him, and their governor will come from his midst; and I will cause him to come near, and he will draw near to Me, for who is this who has pledged his heart to draw near to Me?” A declaration of YHWH. “And you⁺ will be unto Me a people, and I will be unto you⁺ for God.” Behold, the tempest of YHWH! Fury has gone forth, a tempest journeying out; upon the head of the wicked it will twist down. The fierce anger of YHWH will not turn back, until He has done it and until He has established the purposes of His heart. In the latter days you⁺ will understand it. Mourning Turned to Joy (Matthew 2:16–18) “At that time,” a declaration of YHWH, “I will be God for all the families of Israel, and they will be unto Me for a people. Thus says YHWH: “The people surviving the sword found grace in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.” YHWH has appeared to me from afar: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; upon thus I have drawn you with loving devotion. Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O virgin Israel! Again you will put on your tambourines, and you will go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; planters will plant, and they will eat freely. For there will be a day when those keeping watch on Mount Ephraim call out: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to YHWH our God.’” For thus says YHWH: “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations; make it heard, give praise and say, ‘Save, O YHWH, Your people, the remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth— among them the blind and the lame, the one pregnant and the one giving birth together; a great assembly will return here. They will come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them; I will cause them to walk to the rivers of waters by a way that is straight; they will not stumble in it. For I am unto Israel for a Father, and Ephraim he is My firstborn.” Hear the word of YHWH, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say: “The One having scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. For YHWH has redeemed Jacob, and He has ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. And they will come and sing on the height of Zion, and they will beam to the goodness of YHWH, over wheat, and over new wine, and over oil, and over the young of the flock and herd; and their souls will be well-watered like a garden, and they will add to languish no more. Then the virgin will rejoice with dancing, and the young men and the old together; and I will turn their mourning to joy, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” a declaration of YHWH. Thus says YHWH: “A voice is heard in Ramah, wailing and weeping of bitterness— Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted over her children, because they are no more.” 31.15 Cited in Matthew 2:18 Thus says YHWH: “Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for there will be reward for your work, a declaration of YHWH, and they will return from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for your future, a declaration of YHWH, and your children will return to their own border. I have surely heard Ephraim31.18 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verse 20 bemoaning himself: ‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined as an untrained heifer; turn me back and I will return, for You are YHWH my God. For after my turning back, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ Is Ephraim My dear son, or a child of delights? For though I spoke against him, I thoroughly remember him still. Upon thus My bowels yearn for him, I have great compassion for him,” a declaration of YHWH. “Set up for yourself signposts, make for yourself landmarks; set your heart toward the highway, the way you have traveled. Turn back, O virgin Israel, turn back to these cities of yours. How long will you waver, O backsliding daughter? For YHWH has created a new thing in the earth: A woman will encompass31.22 Or will shelter or will return to a man.” Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I turn back their captivity:31.23 Or when I restore their fortunes ‘YHWH bless you, O abode of righteousness, mountain of holiness! And there will dwell in Judah, in it and in all its cities together, the farmers and those setting out with their flock. For I will satisfy the weary soul and fill every sorrowful soul. The New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6–13) After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was pleasant to me. “Behold, the days are coming,” a declaration of YHWH, “When I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it will come to pass, as I have watched over them, to pluck up and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to bring harm; so I will watch over them to build and to plant, a declaration of YHWH. “In those days they will say no more, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’ But instead, each man will die by his iniquity; for every man eating the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. Behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, in that they broke My covenant, and I was a husband to them, a declaration of YHWH. 31.32 Hebrew; LXX for they did not abide in My covenant, and I disregarded them; see also Syriac. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, a declaration of YHWH: I will give My law in their inward parts, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And they will teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH; for all of them will know Me, from the least of them and to the greatest of them, a declaration of YHWH. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 31.34 Cited in Hebrews 8:8–12 and Hebrews 10:16–17 Thus says YHWH, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea when its waves roar—YHWH of Hosts is His name: “If these ordinances depart from before Me, a declaration of YHWH, even the seed of Israel will cease from being a nation before Me all the days.” Thus says YHWH: “If the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below searched out, also I will cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” a declaration of YHWH. “Behold,” the days,31.38 Alternate MT reading Behold, the days are coming declares YHWH, “That the city will be built for YHWH, from the Tower of Hananel to the Gate of the Corner. And the measuring line will go again straight over the hill Gareb, and then turn toward Goah. And all the valley of the carcasses and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Valley of Kidron to the corner of the Gate of the Horse toward the east, are holy unto YHWH; it will not be plucked up and not thrown down anymore forever. Jeremiah Buys Hanamel’s Field The word that came to be to Jeremiah from YHWH in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighth year and tenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. And then the army of the king of Babylon was pressing upon Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the house of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why are you prophesying, saying, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it. And Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans,32.4 That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29, and 43 but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face, and will see him eye to eye; and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will be until I visit him, a declaration of YHWH. If you⁺ fight against the Chaldeans, you⁺ will not succeed.’ And Jeremiah said: “The word of YHWH came to me, saying: Behold, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, ‘Buy for yourself my field that is in Anathoth, for unto you is the right of redemption to buy it. And Hanamel son of my uncle came to me, according to the word of YHWH, in the court of the guard, and he said to me: ‘Buy now my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin. For unto you is the right of inheritance, and unto you the redemption; buy it for yourself.’” And I knew that it was the word of YHWH. And I bought the field that was in Anathoth from Hanamel son of my uncle, and I weighed out for him the silver, seven shekels and ten of silver. 32.9 17 shekels is approximately 6.8 ounces or 193.8 grams of silver. And I wrote in the account and sealed it, and I took witnesses, and weighed out the silver in the scales. And I took the account of the purchase—that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open— and I gave the account of the purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, before Hanamel of my uncle, and before the witnesses having written in the account of the purchase, and before all the Jews sitting in the court of the guard. And I commanded Baruch before their eyes, saying: “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Take these accounts, this account of the purchase—that which is sealed and this account that is open—and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may stand many days. For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Again houses and fields and vineyards will be possessed in this land.” Jeremiah Prays for Understanding And I prayed to YHWH after I had delivered the account of the purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, saying: “Ah Lord YHWH! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is not anything too difficult for You— showing loving devotion to thousands and recompensing the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O God great and Mighty—YHWH of Hosts is His name— great in counsel and mighty in deed. Your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give to each man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his deeds. You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt to this day, and in Israel, and among men; and You have made for Yourself a name, as at this day. And You have brought forth Your people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror. And You gave to them this land that You swore to their fathers to give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they came in and possessed it, and they did not listen to Your voice, and in Your law they did not walk. All that You commanded them to do they have not done. And so You made to befall them all this evil. Behold! The siege ramps have come to the city to take it, and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, by the face of the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence. And that which You have spoken has come to pass—and behold, You are seeing it! And You have said to me, O Lord YHWH, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver, to testify and cause witnesses—even though the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’” Yahweh Answers Jeremiah And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying: “Behold, I am YHWH, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me? Therefore thus says YHWH: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. And the Chaldeans fighting against this city will come in, and they will set this city on fire and will burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs they offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods so as to provoke Me to anger. For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been only doing evil from their youth in My eyes; for the sons of Israel surely have provoked Me to anger by the work of their hands! A declaration of YHWH. For upon My anger and My fury this city has been unto Me from the day that they built it even to this day, and I will turn it aside from before My face, because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons 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 those dwelling in Jerusalem. And they have turned to Me the neck and not the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching, and they have not listened to receive instruction. And they set their abominations in the house upon which My name is called, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, that are in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, to make their daughters and their sons pass through unto Molech—which I did not command them, and it did not come upon My heart that they should do this abomination, so as to cause Judah to sin. A Promise of Restoration (Ezekiel 11:13–21) And now, therefore, thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you⁺ are saying, ‘It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:’ Behold, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I have driven them there in My anger and in My fury and in great wrath, and I will return them to this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety. And they will be unto Me for a people, and I will be unto them God. 32.38 Cited in 2 Corinthians 6:16 And I will give to them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for the good of them and of their sons after them. And I will make with them a covenant forever, that I will not turn away from them My doing good, and My fear I will put in their hearts, and that they will not turn aside from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all My heart and with all My soul. For thus says YHWH: As I have brought to this people all this great evil, so I am bringing in upon them all the good that I am speaking over them. And it will be bought—the field in this land of which you⁺ say, ‘It is desolate with no man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ They will buy fields for money and sign accounts and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the Shephelah,32.44 Or foothills or lowlands; that is, the western foothills of Judea and in the cities of the Negev; for I will turn back their captivity,32.44 Or I will restore their fortunes a declaration of YHWH.” The Excellence of the Restored Nation And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah a second time (and he was still shut up in the court of the guard), saying: “Thus says YHWH, who made the earth,33.2 LXX; Hebrew who made it YHWH who formed it to establish it—YHWH is His name: Call to Me and I will answer you, and will show to you great and hidden things that you have not known. For thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah pulled down against the siege mounds and against the sword: They are coming in to fight with the Chaldeans33.5 That is, the Babylonians and to fill them with the carcasses of the men whom I will slay in My anger and in My fury, and for whom I have hidden My face from this city and over all their evil. Behold, I will bring to it health and healing; and I will heal them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will turn back the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel,33.7 Or I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and I will rebuild them as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. And it will be for Me as a name of joy, as a praise and as an honor before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good that I am doing for them, and they will dread and will tremble over all the goodness and over all the prosperity that I will provide for it. Thus says YHWH: Once again there will be heard in this place of which you⁺ say it is desolate without man and without beast, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those saying—‘Praise YHWH of Hosts, for YHWH is good, for His loving devotion is forever’— of those bringing thank offerings into the house of YHWH. For I will turn back the captivity of the land33.11 Or I will restore the fortunes of the land as at the first, says YHWH. Thus says YHWH of Hosts: Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there will be a dwelling place of shepherds causing the flock to lie down. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah,33.13 Or foothills or lowlands; that is, the western foothills of Judea and in the cities of the Negev, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flock will pass again under the hands of the one counting, says YHWH. The Covenant with David Behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, when I will establish the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause to spring up for David a Branch of righteousness, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is what will be called unto her: YHWH Tsidqenu.33.16 YHWH Tsidqenu means THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS For thus says YHWH: David will never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, the Levites, lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice all the days. And came the word of YHWH to Jeremiah, saying: “Thus says YHWH: If you⁺ can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then also My covenant may be broken with David My servant, from there being unto him a son reigning on his throne; so with the Levites, the priests, those ministering to Me. As the host of the heavens cannot be numbered and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so will I multiply the seed of David My servant and the Levites ministering to Me. And came the word of YHWH to Jeremiah, saying: “Have you not considered what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families that YHWH has chosen, and He has rejected them? Thus they have despised My people from being anymore a nation before them. Thus says YHWH: If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the fixed orders of the heavens and earth, then the seed of Jacob and David My servant will I refuse to take from his seed to be reigning over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will turn back their captivity,33.26 Or I will restore their fortunes and T will have mercy on them. A Prophecy against Zedekiah The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth under the dominion of his hand, and all the people fought against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying: Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and say to him, thus says YHWH: “Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with the fire. And you will not escape from his hand, but you will surely be captured and given into his hand, and your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of YHWH, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says YHWH concerning you: You will not die by the sword. You will die in peace. And with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn for you, and will they lament for you: ‘Alas O lord! For I have spoken the word,” a declaration of YHWH. And Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Zedekiah the king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem, and the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left—against Lachish and against Azekah. For these fortified cities remained among the cities of Judah. Freedom for Hebrew Slaves The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH after King Zedekiah had cut a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim to them liberty, that each man should send forth free his manservant and his maidservant, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, that none of them should lay service on a Jew, his fellow man. And they agreed, all the princes and all the people who had come into this covenant, to send forth free each man his manservant and his maidservant, so as not to lay service on them anymore. And they agreed and sent them forth. And they turned around after thus, the menservants and the maidservants made return whom they had sent forth free, and they subjected them as menservants and as maidservants. And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: I cut a covenant with your⁺ fathers in the day that I brought them from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, saying: At the end of seven years you⁺ will send forth each man his brother, the Hebrew who has been sold to him. When he has served you six years, then you will send him forth free from you. Your⁺ fathers did not listen to Me and they did not incline their ear. And you⁺ turned this day and did right in My eyes, proclaiming liberty, each man to his neighbor. And you⁺ cut a covenant before Me in the house upon which My name is called. And you⁺ turned back and profaned My name, and each man his manservant and his maidservant whom he had sent forth free according to their soul, you⁺ made return and subjected them to become for you⁺ as menservants and maidservants. Therefore, thus says YHWH: You⁺ have not listened to Me in proclaiming liberty, each man to his brother, and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am proclaiming to you⁺ liberty, a declaration of YHWH, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine! And I will give have to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men having transgressed My covenant, who have not made stand the words of the covenant that they cut before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, those passing between the parts of the calf! And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and their corpses will be as meat for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon that has gone up from upon you⁺. Behold, I am giving the command, a declaration of YHWH, and I will cause them to return to this city, and they will make war against it and will take it and will burn it with fire. And the cities of Judah I will make a desolation without inhabitant. The Obedience of the Rechabites The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying: “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them to the house of YHWH, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. And I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and all the house of the Rechabites, and I brought them to the house of YHWH, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God, that was beside the chamber of the princes, that was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them: “Drink wine. And they said, “We will not drink wine,” for Jonadab35.6 Jonadab is a variant of Jehonadab; here and throughout this chapter; see 2 Kings 10:15. son of Rechab our father commanded to us, saying, ‘You shall not drink wine, you⁺ or your⁺ sons, even to forever. And you⁺ shall not build a house, and you⁺ shall not sow seed, and you⁺ shall not plant a vineyard and not will one be unto you⁺. But in tents you⁺ shall dwell all your⁺ days, that you⁺ may live many days in the land where you⁺ are sojourning there. And we have listened to the voice of Jonadab son of Rechab our father in all that he has commanded us, so as not to drink wine all our days—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters— and so as not to build houses for our dwelling, and not is unto us a vineyard or field or seed. And we have dwelt in tents, and we have heard and done according to all that Jonadab our father has commanded us. And it came to pass with the coming up of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to the land, that we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem before the face of the army of the Chaldeans35.11 That is, the Babylonians and before the face of the army of Aram.’ So we dwell in Jerusalem. Judah Rebuked And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying: “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and to those dwelling in Jerusalem, “Will you⁺ not receive instruction to obey My words,” a declaration of YHWH. The words of Jonadab son of Rechab that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, have been performed. And they have not drunk until this day, and indeed they have heard the command of their father. And I have spoken to you⁺, rising early and speaking, and you⁺ have not listened to Me. And I have sent to you⁺ all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now each man, from his evil way, and amend your⁺ works, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land that I have given to you⁺ and to your⁺ fathers.’ But you would not incline your⁺ ear, and you⁺ did not listen to Me! So the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have done the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, and this people have not listened to Me. Therefore, thus says YHWH God of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing to Judah and to all those dwelling in Jerusalem all the evil that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, and I have called to them and they have not answered.’” And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because that you⁺ have listened upon the commandment of Jonadab your⁺ father, and have kept all his precepts, and have done according to all that he commanded you⁺, therefore thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: For Jonadab son of Rechab will not lack a man to stand before Me all the days.’” Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying: “Take for yourself a scroll of a book, and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I am planning to bring upon them, so that each man might turn back from his evil way; and I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. And Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of YHWH that He had spoken to him on a scroll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying: “I am restrained; I am not able to enter the house of YHWH. And you are to go and call out from the scroll, which you have written from my mouth, the words of YHWH into the ears of the people in the house of YHWH, on the day of fasting. And also you shall read them into the ears of all Judah who are coming from their cities. Perhaps their plea for mercy will fall before YHWH, and each man will turn back from his evil way—for great is the anger and the fury with which YHWH has spoken against this people! And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him, calling out from the book of the words of YHWH in the house of YHWH. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they called a fast before YHWH to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. And Baruch called out from the book of the words of Jeremiah in the house of YHWH, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate of the house of YHWH, into the ears of all the people. Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace And Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of YHWH from the book, and he went down to the house of the king, into the chamber of the scribe, and there all the princes were sitting—Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Achbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the princes. And Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book into the ears of the people. And all the princes sent to Baruch Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi, saying: “The scroll, which you have called out from it into the ears of the people, take it in your hand and come.” And Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down, now, and read it in our ears.” And Baruch read it in their ears. And it came to pass at their hearing all the words, that they were in fear, each man to his neighbor, and said to Baruch: “We must surely declare to the king all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying: “Declare, please, to us how did you write all these words? From his mouth? And Baruch gave the answer to them: “From his mouth he called out to me all these words, and I was writing upon the book in ink. And the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide yourself, you and Jeremiah! And do not let a man know where you⁺ are. Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll And they went to the king, into the court, and they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they declared in the ears of the king all the words. And the king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who were standing beside the king. And the king was sitting in the house of the winter in the ninth month, and the hearth before his face was burning. And it came to pass when Jehudi had read three or four columns that he cut it with the knife of a scribe and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed upon the fire that was on the hearth. And they were not afraid and they did not tear their garments—the king and his servants who heard all these words. And even Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah implored the king to not burn the scroll, and he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel son of the king, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; and YHWH hid them away. Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying: “Return, take for yourself another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were upon the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned. And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, thus says YHWH: You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it saying the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and cause to cease from it man and beast? Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: There will be no one unto him to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body will be cast out into the heat of the day and into the frost of the night! And I will visit punishment upon him and upon his family and upon his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and on those dwelling in Jerusalem and on the men of Judah all the disaster that I have spoken against them, and they did not listen. And Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he wrote on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and besides these were added to them many like words. Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah And king Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned in place of Coniah37.1 Coniah is a variant of Jehoiachin. son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. And he did not listen—he and his servants and the people of the land—to the words of YHWH that He spoke by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Pray, please, for us to YHWH our God. 37.3 Jehucal is a variant of Jucal; see Jeremiah 38:1. And Jeremiah was coming and going in the midst of the people, and they had not put him in the house of imprisonment. And the army of Pharaoh had come up from Egypt, and the Chaldeans37.5 That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 8, 9, 13, and 14 laying siege on Jerusalem heard news of them, and they went up from Jerusalem. And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: Thus you⁺ will say to the king of Judah, the one sending you⁺ to Me to inquire of Me, ‘Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has come up to help you⁺, will return to Egypt, to its own land. And the Chaldeans will return again and will make war against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with the fire! Thus says YHWH: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely depart from us.’ For they will not depart. For if you⁺ were to strike all the force of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you⁺, and there remained among them only wounded men, then they would rise up, each man in his tent, and burn this city with fire! Jeremiah Imprisoned And it came to pass in the going up of the army of the Chaldeans from Jerusalem for fear of the army of Pharaoh, that Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to divide from there in the midst of the people. And it came to pass when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, that a captain of the guard was there, and his name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. And he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “To the Chaldeans you are falling away! And Jeremiah said, “Falsehood!” I am not falling away to the Chaldeans.” And he would not listen to him, and Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. And the princes were angry at Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in the house of bond in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made it into a house of restraint. When Jeremiah came into the house of the dungeon and into the cells, then Jeremiah dwelt there many days. And the king Zedekiah sent and took him out, and the king asked him in his house in secret and said: “Is there a word from YHWH?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” And he said, “Into the hand of the king of Babylon you will be given! And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done against you and against your servants and against this people, that you⁺ have put me into the house of restraint? Where indeed are your⁺ prophets who prophesied to you⁺, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you⁺ or against this land’? and now listen, please, O my lord the king: Let my petition, please, be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I should not die there. And king the Zedekiah ordered that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the guard and give to him a piece of bread day by day out of the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was finished. Thus Jeremiah dwelt in the court of the guard. Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern Then Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal38.1 Jucal is a variant of Jehucal; see Jeremiah 37:3. son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying: “Thus says YHWH: He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and the one going forth to the Chaldeans38.2 That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 18, 19, and 23 will live, and his life will be to him for a prey, and he will live. Thus says YHWH: “This city is surely given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.” And the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for by this he is weakening the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, speaking to them these words. For this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but only the harm. And the king Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your⁺ hands; for there is not a thing the king can do against you⁺. And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king that was in the court of the guard. And they sent down Jeremiah with the ropes. And in the cistern there was not water, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. And Ebed-melech the Cushite,38.7 Or the Ethiopian, probably from the upper Nile region a eunuch38.7 Or a court official who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—and the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin— and Ebed-melech went forth from the house of the king, and he spoke to the king, saying: “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 cistern; and he is likely to die from hunger in his place, for there is no more bread in the city. And the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying: “Take with you from this place thirty men and lift Jeremiah the prophet out the pit before he dies. And Ebed-melech took the men with him, and he went into the house of the king under the treasury, and he took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by cords into the cistern to Jeremiah. And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah: “Please put worn-out clothes and rags under the joints of your arms, under the cords.” And Jeremiah did so. And they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and they lifted him from the cistern; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. And the king Zedekiah sent, and he took Jeremiah the prophet to him at the third entrance of the house of YHWH; and the king said to Jeremiah: “I am going to ask you a thing; do not hide from me a thing.” And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I should advise you, you will not listen to me.” And the king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “As YHWH lives, who made for us this soul, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your soul! And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you will surely go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, then your soul will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you will live—you and your house. And if you do not go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hands!’” And the king Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “I am afraid of the Jews who have fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they heap abuse on me. And Jeremiah said: “They will not give!” Hear now the voice of YHWH, which I am going to speak to you, that it may go well with you and your soul may live. If you refuse to go out, this is the word that YHWH has shown me. And behold, all the women who are remaining in the house of the king of Judah are being brought out to the princes of the king of Babylon, and they will say, ‘They have deceived you and prevailed against you— men of your well-being; your feet have sunk in the mire; they have turned the back.’ And all your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, for you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will burn with fire.” And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “Let no man know of these words, and you will not die. And when the princes hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare now to us what you have said to the king—do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death—and what the king said to you:’ And you shall say to them ‘I caused my supplication to fall before the king, that he would not make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” And all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him, and he declared to them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the matter had not been heard. And Jeremiah dwelt in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And he was there when Jerusalem was captured. The Fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1–12; 2 Chronicles 36:15–21) In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege against it. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken through. And all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Of Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim39.3 Or Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsekim the Rabsaris,39.3 Hebrew Rab-saris is the title of the chief eunuch in the Assyrian military; also in verse 13. Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag,39.3 Hebrew Rab-mag is the title of the chief soothsayer or chief of princes in the Assyrian military; also in verse 13. and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. And it came to pass when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out by night from the city by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls; and he went out by way of the Arabah.39.4 Or the Jordan Valley And the army of the Chaldeans39.5 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 8 pursued after them, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they seized him, and they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he spoke against him judgment. And the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes; and also the king of Babylon killed all the nobles of Judah. And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and he bound him with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon. And the house of the king, and the houses of the people, the Chaldeans burned with fire, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem. And the remnant of the people, those remaining in the city, and those falling away who fell to him, and the remainder of the people that remained, Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guards exiled to Babylon. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards left some of the poor of the people, who not a thing was unto them in the land of Judah, and he gave to them vineyards and fields at that time. Jeremiah Delivered And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave a charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards, saying: “Take him and look after him, and you will not do to him anything evil. But instead, as he speaks to you, so do to him. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards sent Nebushasban,39.13 Nebushazban is possibly a variant of Nebo-sarsekim; see verse 3. Rab-saris, and Nergal-shar-ezer, Rab-mag, and all chief officers of the king of Babylon, and they sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard, and they gave him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, to bring him forth to the house. And he dwelt in the midst of the people. And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah in his being shut up in the court of the guard, saying: “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold I will bring My words against this city, for evil and not for good, and they will come to pass before you in that day. And I will deliver you in that day, a declaration of YHWH, and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely rescue you by the sword, and you will not fall; and your life will be unto you as a prize, because you have put your trust in Me!’” A declaration of YHWH. Jeremiah Remains in Judah The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards has sent him away from Ramah, when he had taken him—and he being bound in chains—in the midst of all the exile of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. And the captain of the guards took Jeremiah and said to him, “YHWH your God has spoken this evil against this place, and YHWH has brought it, and He has done as He said. Because you⁺ have sinned against YHWH and have not listened to His voice, so this thing has come upon you⁺. And now, behold, I have loosed you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will put the eye to you. And if it is bad in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, remain here. Behold, all the land is before you; wherever it is good and upright for you to go, go there. And while he had not turned again: “And You may return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and you may dwell with him in the midst of the people or go to wherever is upright for you to go.” And the captain of the guards gave rations to him, and a present, and he sent him away. And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and he dwelt with him in the midst of the people remaining in the land. Gedaliah Governs in Judah (2 Kings 25:22–24) And all the captains of the forces who were in the fields heard—they and their men—that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam in the land, and he had appointed to him men, and women, and children, and the poorest of the land, who had not been exiled to Babylon; and they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maachathite—they and their men. 40.8 Jezaniah is a variant of Jaazaniah; see 2 Kings 25:23. And Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan took an oath before them and before their men, saying: “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans;40.9 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 10 dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you⁺. And I, behold, I will be dwelling at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans who will come to us; and you⁺, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, and put them in your⁺ vessels, and dwell in your⁺ cities that you⁺ have taken. And also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom, who were in all the lands, heard that the king of Babylon had given a remnant for Judah and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son Shaphan. And all the Jews from all of the places to which they had been driven there returned, and they came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance. The Plot against Gedaliah And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they said to him: “Do you know for certain that Baalis the king of the sons of the Ammon has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to strike your soul?” And Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not trust them. And Johanan son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in secret in Mizpah, saying: “Let me go, please, and I will strike Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know.” Why should he strike you, so that all Judah who are gathered to you should be scattered and the remnant of Judah should perish? And Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah: “You will not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael. The Murder of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:25–26) And it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the royal seed and of the officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah rose up, and ten of the men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan with the sword, and he killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. And also all the Jews who were with him, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans41.3 Or Babylonians who were found there, the men of war, Ishmael struck down. And it came to pass on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, and not a man knew it, that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and torn clothes and having cut themselves, and with offering and incense in their hands, to bring in to the house of YHWH. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out to meet them from Mizpah, and weeping all along as he went. And it came to pass as he met them that he said to them: “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam. And it came to pass at their coming into the midst of the city that Ishmael son of Nethaniah slaughtered them into the midst of a cistern—he and the men who were with him. And ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael: “Do not put us to death, for we have treasures in the field—wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey.” And he held back, and he did not put them to death in the midst of their brothers. And the cistern into which Ishmael had cast there all the carcasses of the men whom he had struck down along with the hand of Gedaliah, was that which king Asa had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. And Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the daughters of the king and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam; and Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and went off to cross over to the sons of Ammon. Johanan Rescues the Captives And Johanan son of Kareah heard, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done, and they took all the men, and went to do battle with Ishmael son of Nethaniah; and they found him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. And it came to pass when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad. And all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around, and they returned, and they went to Johanan son of Kareah. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah, with eight men, escaped from Johanan and went to the sons of Ammon. And Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him took all the rest of the people whom he had turned back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war, and the women, and the sons, and the eunuchs41.16 Or court officials whom he had brought back from Gibeon. And they went and dwelt in the lodging-place of Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, to go to enter Egypt, because of the Chaldeans;41.18 That is, the Babylonians for they were afraid of their face, because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed in the land. A Warning against Going to Egypt And they came near—all the captains of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Jezaniah42.1 Hebrew; LXX Azariah; see Jeremiah 43:2. and son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest, and they said to Jeremiah the prophet: “Please, let our supplication fall before your face, and pray for us to YHWH your God, on behalf of all this remnant—since we have left remaining a few of the many, as your eyes can see with us— that YHWH your God may present to us the way in which we should walk in it, and the thing that we should do. And Jeremiah the prophet said to them: “I have heard;” behold, I will pray to YHWH your⁺ God according to your⁺ words; and it will come to pass that every word that YHWH answers you⁺, I will declare to you⁺—I will not withhold from you⁺ a word. And they said to Jeremiah: “May YHWH be against us as a true and faithful witness, if according to every word that YHWH your God sends you to us, we do not thus. Whether good or whether bad, to the voice of YHWH our God, to whom we are sending you, we will listen, so that it may be good for us when we listen to the voice of YHWH our God. And it came to pass after ten days that the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah. And he called to Johanan son of Kareah, and to all the captains of the forces that were with him, and to all the people, from the least even to the greatest, and said to them: “Thus says YHWH the God of Israel to Him to whom you⁺ sent me to cause your⁺ supplication to fall before His face: ‘If, turning back, you⁺ will dwell in this land, then I will build you⁺ up and not pull you down, and I will plant you⁺ and not pluck you up; for I will relent concerning the disaster that I have done to you⁺. You⁺ shall not be afraid before the face of the king of Babylon, whom you⁺ are afraid of him. Do not be afraid of him, a declaration of YHWH, for I am with you⁺ to save you⁺ and to deliver you⁺ from his hand! And I will give to you⁺ compassion, that he may have compassion on you⁺ and return you⁺ to your⁺ own land.’ And if you⁺ are saying ‘We do not dwell in this land, so as not to listen to the voice of YHWH your⁺ God, saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, and the voice of the shofar will we not hear, and we will not be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell,’ then now thus will you hear the word of YHWH, O remnant of Judah! Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you⁺ really set your⁺ faces to go to Egypt, and to go to dwell there, then it will come to pass that the sword that you⁺ were afraid of it, will overtake you⁺ there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you⁺ were afraid, will follow close after you⁺ there in Egypt, and there you⁺ will die! And will it come to pass with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there, that they will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and will there be of them no survivor or escapee from the disaster that I am bringing upon them!’ For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury were poured out on those dwelling in Jerusalem, so My fury will be poured out on you⁺ in your⁺ coming to Egypt. And you⁺ will become as an object of cursing, and as a horror, and as a curse, and a reproach; and you⁺ will not see this place again. YHWH has said concerning you⁺, O remnant of Judah: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know you⁺ for sure that I have given a warning to you⁺ this day that you⁺ have gone astray in your⁺ souls, when you⁺ sent me to YHWH your⁺ God, saying, ‘Pray on our behalf to YHWH our God, and according to all that YHWH our God says, so declare it to us, and we will do it! And I have declared it to you⁺ this day, and you⁺ have not listened to the voice of YHWH your⁺ God, and in all that He has sent me to you⁺. And now, know you⁺ for sure that by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence you⁺ will die in the place where you⁺ delight to go to dwell there. Jeremiah Taken to Egypt And it came to pass when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of YHWH their God, which YHWH their God had sent him to them all these words, that Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men spoke to Jeremiah, saying: “You are speaking falsehood! YHWH our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there. For Baruch son of Neriah has been inciting you against us in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to put us to death, or to carry us away captive to Babylon. 43.3 That is, the Babylonians And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the captains, of the forces and all the people would not listen to the voice of YHWH to dwell in the land of Judah. And Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah, those who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven there, to dwell in the land of Judah— the men, and the women, and the sons and daughters of the king, and every soul whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch son of Neriah. And they came to the land of Egypt, for they did not listen to the voice of YHWH, and they came as far as Tahpanhes. And the word of YHWH to came Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying: “Take in your hand large stones and hide them in the mortar in the brick that is at the entrance to house of Pharaoh in Tahpanhes, before the eyes of the men of the Jews. And say to them, thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am sending and I will bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his pavilion over them. And he will come and he will strike the land of Egypt—those for death to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and carry them away captive, and he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as the shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will go forth from there in peace. And he will break the pillars of Heliopolis that are in the land of Egypt,43.13 LXX; or He will break the pillars of Heliopolis that are in On; Hebrew He will break the pillars of Beth-shemesh that are in the land of Egypt and the houses of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire. Judgment on the Jews in Egypt The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who are dwelling in the land of Egypt,44.1 Or in Lower Egypt or in northern Egypt; also in verse 15 those dwelling in Migdol, and in Tahpanhes, and in Memphis,44.1 LXX; Hebrew Noph and in the land of Pathros,44.1 Or in Upper Egypt or in southern Egypt; also in verse 15 saying, “Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: You⁺ have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah. And behold, they are a desolation this day, and no one is dwelling in them. Because of their evil that they have done, provoking Me to anger by going to burn incense to serve other gods whom they had not known—they, you⁺, and your⁺ fathers. And I sent to you⁺ all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying: ‘I implore you, do not do the thing of this abhorrence that I hate!’ And they did not listen and they did not stretch out their ear to turn back from their evil, so as not to burn incense other to gods. My fury and My anger was poured out, and it burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became as a ruin and as a desolation, as this day. And now, thus says YHWH, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you⁺ doing great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you⁺ man and woman, child and infant, from the midst of Judah, so as not to leave behind for you⁺ a remnant, by provoking Me to anger by the works of your⁺ hands, burning incense other to gods in the land of Egypt, where you⁺ are going in to dwell there, so as to cut off yourselves and to become as a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you⁺ forgotten the evils of your⁺ fathers, and the evils of the kings of Judah, and the evils of their wives, and your⁺ own evils, and the evils of your⁺ wives, which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? They have not been broken to this day, and they have not feared, and they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you⁺ and before your⁺ fathers. Therefore, thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am setting My face against you⁺ for disaster, and to cut off all Judah! And I will take the remnant of Judah, those who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they will all finished off in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword, by the famine. They will be finished off from the small even to the great. By the sword and by the famine they will die, and they will be as an object of cursing, as a horror, and as a curse, and as a taunt! For I will visit punishment upon those dwelling in the land of Egypt, as I visited upon Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by pestilence. And will there be no escapee or survivor for the remnant of Judah having gone in the land of Egypt to dwell there, that they should return to the land of Judah, to which they are lifting their soul to return to dwell there; for none will return, except a few escapees. The Stubbornness of the People And they answered Jeremiah—all the men knowing that their wives had been burning incense other to gods, and all the women standing by, a great assembly, and all the people dwelling in the land of Egypt, in Pathros44.15 That is, in Lower and Upper Egypt; possibly in the land of Egypt at Pathros—saying, “The word that you have spoken to us in the name of YHWH—we will not listen to you. For we will surely do will we do every word that has gone forth from our mouth, burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out to her drink offerings, as we have done—we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem. And we were satisfied with food, and we were well, and we did not see evil. And from the time we stopped burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and by the sword and by the famine have been finished off! And when we, burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it not without our husbands that we made for her cakes to worship her and pour out to her drink offerings?” Calamity for the Jews And Jeremiah spoke to all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people answering him that word, saying: “The incense that you⁺ burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you⁺, and your⁺ fathers, your⁺ kings, and your⁺ princes, and the people of the land—was it not them who YHWH remembered, and they came up upon His heart? And YHWH could no longer bear it, from the face of the evil of your⁺ deeds, and from the face of the abominations that you⁺ have done! And your⁺ land has become as a desolation, and as a horror, and as a curse, from there being no one dwelling there, as this day. Before the face of that you⁺ have burned incense, and that you⁺ have sinned against YHWH, and you⁺ have not listened to the voice of YHWH, and by His law, and by His statutes, and by His testimonies you⁺ have not walked—upon thus this disaster has met you⁺, as this day.” And Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women: “Hear the word of YHWH, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You⁺ and your⁺ wives have indeed spoken with your⁺ mouths, and with your⁺ hands you⁺ have fulfilled it, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed to burn incense to the queen of the heavens—to pour out to her drink offerings.’ You⁺ will surely make stand your⁺ vows, and you⁺ will surely perform your⁺ vows! Therefore hear the word of YHWH, all Judah who are dwelling in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says YHWH, that My name will no more be called in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘By the life of the Lord YHWH!’ Behold, I am watching over them for evil and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be finished off by the sword and by the famine, until they are finished off! And those escaping the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah small in number, and they will know—all the remnant of Judah having gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there—whose word will stand, from Me or from them! And this is a sign for you⁺, a declaration of YHWH, that I will visit punishment on you⁺ in this place, so that you⁺ may know that My words will surely stand against you⁺ for harm, thus says YHWH: Behold, I am giving Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those seeking his soul, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy and one seeking his soul!” Jeremiah’s Message to Baruch The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah, in his writing these words upon a scroll from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You have said, ‘Woe now to me! For YHWH has added sorrow to my pain! I grow weary in my sighing, I do not find rest.’” Thus you will say to him, “Thus says YHWH: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—even all the land itself. And do you seek for yourself great things? Do not seek them. For behold, I am going to bring disaster upon all flesh, a declaration of YHWH, and I will give to you your soul as a prize, in all the places to which you go there.” Judgment on Egypt That which was the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations, for Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt which was alongside the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “Arrange the buckler and shield, and draw near for the battle! Harness the horses, and mount up O horsemen! And take your stand with helmets on; polish the spears, and put on the armor! Why have I seen it? They are terrified; they are turning back, and their mighty ones are crushed, and in haste they have fled; not even did they turn; fear was all around!” A declaration of YHWH. “Swift cannot flee, and the mighty one cannot escape; in the north, alongside the River Euphrates, they stumble and fall. Who is this like the River coming up, like the rivers with their surging waters? Egypt like the River rises up, and like the rivers its waters surge; and he says, ‘I will go up, and will cover the earth, and I will destroy the city and those dwelling in it! Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let come forth the mighty ones, Cush46.9 That is, the upper Nile region and Put handling the shield, and the Lydians handling and bending the bow. And that day is unto the Lord YHWH of hosts! A day of vengeance, to avenge Himself on His adversaries! And the sword will devour and be satisfied and made drunk with their blood; for a sacrifice is unto the Lord YHWH of Hosts in the land of the north, by the River Euphrates. Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have multiplied remedies; there is no healing for you. The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry has filled the land; for mighty one against mighty one has stumbled— together have fallen the two of them!” The word that YHWH spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, regarding the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt. “Declare it in Egypt, and let it be heard in Migdol! And let it also be heard in Memphis,46.14 LXX; Hebrew Noph; also in verse 19 and in Tahpanhes say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves, for the sword will devour those around you!’ Why have your mighty ones been laid low? He has not stood, because YHWH has thrust him away. He has multiplied those stumbling, yes, a man has fallen upon his neighbor. And they say, ‘Stand up, and let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, from the face of the sword of the oppressor!’ They call out there: ‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, a loud noise; he has let pass by’ the appointed time! As I live, a declaration of the King, YHWH of Hosts is His name— surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, he will come. Vessels for exile you will make for yourself, O dweller and daughter of Egypt! For Memphis will become as a waste, and will be made desolate without one dwelling there. A heifer very beautiful is Egypt, a biting fly from the north is coming against her! Even her hirelings among her are like calves of the stall, for also they have turned back; they have fled away together, they have not stood, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment. Her noise is like a serpent that goes away, for with a force they go, and with axes they come against her, like those chopping down trees. 46.22 Hebrew nachash; translated in most cases as snake They will cut down her forest, a declaration of YHWH, though it cannot be searched, for they are more numerous than locusts, and there is not for them numbering! The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, and she will be given into the hand of the people of the north.” YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am bringing punishment against Amon of Thebes,46.25 Hebrew Amon of No and upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt, and upon their gods, and upon their kings—and upon Pharaoh, and upon those trusting in him. And I will give them into the hand of those seeking their souls, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And after this, it will be a dwelling place as in days of old, a declaration of YHWH. And you, do not be afraid, O My servant Jacob, and you should not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I am bringing you salvation from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob will return, and he will have quiet, and he will find rest, with no one to make him afraid. You will not fear, O My servant Jacob, a declaration of YHWH, for I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you there. And of you I will not make a full end; I will discipline you according to justice, and I will not entirely acquit you.” Judgment on the Philistines (Zephaniah 2:4–7) That which was the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet regarding the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza. Thus says YHWH: “Behold, the waters are coming up from the north, and they will be overwhelming as a flood, and they will overwhelm the land and its fullness, the city and those dwelling in it; and man will cry out, and all those dwelling in the land will wail. Before the sound of the stamping of the hooves of his mighty ones, from the quaking of his chariots, the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers will not turn back toward the sons, from feebleness of hands, For the day is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining one giving help; for YHWH will destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coast of Caphtor. 47.4 That is, Crete Baldness has come to Gaza; Ashkelon has been cut off, O remnant of their valley,47.5 That is, the Mediterranean coast or plain until when will you cut yourself? ‘Alas, O sword of YHWH, until when will you not be quiet? Be removed to your sheath; rest and be silent!’ How can it be quiet when YHWH has given a command to it? Against Ashkelon, and against the coast of the sea, there He has appointed it.” Judgment on Moab (Isaiah 15:1–9) Concerning Moab, thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe to Nebo, for it is ruined! Kiriathaim has been put to shame; it has been captured; the fortress has been put to shame and shattered! There is no longer praise for Moab! In Heshbon48.2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot. they have devised against her evil: ‘Come, and let us cut her off from nationhood!’ Also, O Madmen,48.2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for silenced. you will be silenced, after you will go the sword. A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused to be heard a cry.48.4 Hebrew; LXX her cries are heard as far away as Zoar For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, they ascend weeping; for on the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distressed cry of destruction. ‘Flee, save your⁺ own soul! L become like a juniper in the desert.48.6 Or like a wild donkey or like Aroer’ For because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you also will be captured; and Chemosh will go forth into exile, his priests and his princes together. And the destroyer will come to every city, and not a city will escape; and the valley will perish, and the plain will be destroyed— as YHWH has said. Give wings to Moab, for she would fly away,48.9 Or Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste and her cities will become as a desolation without one dwelling in them. Cursed is the one doing the work of YHWH slothfully, and cursed is the one withholding his sword from blood! Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has been resting upon his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, and into exile he has not gone. Upon thus his taste in him stands, and his scent has not changed. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, a declaration of YHWH, when I will send to him those tipping over pots, and they will tip him over, and his vessels they will empty, and the bottles they will break. And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their source of trust. How can you⁺ say, ‘We are Mighty, and men of strength for battle’? Moab has been laid waste, and he has gone up from her cities, and the choicest of her young men go down to the slaughter, a declaration of the King, YHWH of Hosts is His name. The doom of Moab is near to coming, and his affliction has hurried quickly. Bemoan for him, all who surround him, and all who know his name, say, ‘How the staff of strength is broken— the rod of beauty!’ Come down from your glory, and sit in thirst, O dweller of the daughter of Dibon; for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortifications! By the road stand and watch, O dweller of Aroer; ask of him fleeing and her escaping; Say, ‘What has happened?’ Moab is put to shame, for she has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare it in Arnon, that Moab has been laid waste. Judgment has come to the land of the plain— to Holon, and to Jahzah,48.21 Jahzah is a variant of Jahaz; see verse 34. and on Mephaath, and on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim, and on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-Meon, and on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the cities of the land of Moab, those far off and those nearby. The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm has been broken!” A declaration of YHWH. “Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against YHWH. And Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will be a laughingstock. For did not Israel come to be for you a laughingstock? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you speak of him you shake your head about him? Leave behind the cities and dwell in the rock, O dwellers of Moab, and become like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a cave. We have heard the pride of Moab— his exceeding pride— his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pridefulness, and the haughtiness of his heart. I know,” a declaration of YHWH, “His insolence; his boasts are not trustworthy; his deeds are not trustworthy. Upon thus, over Moab I wail, and for Moab, all of him, I will cry out; for the men of Kir-Heres48.31 Kir-heres is a variant of Kir-hareseth; also in verse 36; see Isaiah 16:7. I will moan. With the weeping of Jazer do I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils have gone out over the sea,48.32 Probably the Dead Sea as far as Jazer48.32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and LXX; most Hebrew manuscripts to the Sea of Jazer they reach; upon your summer fruit and upon your vintage the destroyer has fallen. Gladness and rejoicing are gathered up from the fertile field, and from the land of Moab; the wine from the winepresses I have made to cease; no one treads them with shouts of joy— the shout is not a shout. From the outcry of Heshbon unto Elealeh, and unto Jahaz, they have given forth their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim, and Eglath-Shelishiyah; for also the waters of Nimrim have become desolations. And I will make cease in Moab,” a declaration of YHWH, “The one bringing up in the high places, and burning incense to his gods. Upon thus My heart wails for Moab like flutes, and My heart wails for the men of Kir-Heres like flutes. Upon thus the wealth they have acquired has perished. For every head is bald, and every beard is diminished; on all the hands are cuts, and upon the loins is sackcloth. On all the housetops of Moab, and in her streets, everywhere is lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel without delight in it,” a declaration of YHWH. “How she is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned her neck having been put to shame! Moab has become a derision and for a horror to all those around her.” For thus says YHWH: “Behold, like an eagle he flies and spreads his wings against Moab. Kerioth is captured, and the strongholds are caught, and the heart of the mighty ones of Moab will be on that day like the heart of a woman in labor. And Moab will be destroyed as a nation, because he has magnified himself against YHWH. Terror and pit and snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab!” A declaration of YHWH. “The one who flees from the terror will fall into the pit, and the one coming up from the pit will be caught in the snare; for I will bring upon her, upon Moab, the year of their punishment!” A declaration of YHWH. “In the shadow of Heshbon stand those fleeing powerless; for a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it devours the forehead of Moab and the crown of the sons of tumult. Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken into captivity, and your daughters into captivity. And I will turn back the captivity of Moab48.47 Or restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days,” a declaration of YHWH. As far as here is the judgment of Moab. Judgment on the Ammonites Concerning the sons of Ammon. Thus says YHWH: “Are there not sons for Israel? Or is there not one inheriting for him? Why then does Milcom49.1 Or their king; Milcom is a variant of Molech; also in verse 3; see Leviticus 18:21 and 1 Kings 11:7. take the inheritance of Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” a declaration of YHWH, “When I will make heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon a shout of war, and it will become as a mound of desolation, and her villages will be burned with fire; and Israel will take possession of his inheritance,” a declaration of YHWH. “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been laid waste! Cry, O daughters of Rabbah, and gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and roam about by the walls; for Milcom will go into captivity, his priests and his princes together. Why do you boast in the valleys, the flowing of your valley,49.4 Or your fruitful valleys O backsliding daughter, the one trusting in her treasures: ‘Who will come against me?’ Behold, I am bringing upon you terror,” a declaration of the Lord YHWH of Hosts. “Before the face of those around you, and you⁺ will be driven out, each man before his face, and none shall gather up those wandering. And after this, I will turn back the captivity of the sons of Ammon,”49.6 Or restore the fortunes of the Ammonites a declaration of YHWH. Judgment on Edom (Obadiah 1:1–14) Concerning Edom, thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? Flee, turn back, and go deep to dwell, O dwellers of Dedan! For the calamity of Esau I will bring upon him, the time I will visit punishment on him. If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves in the night, would they not destroy their sufficiency? But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his secret places, and he will not be able to hide himself. His seed is destroyed, and His brothers, and his neighbors, and he is no more. Leave behind your fatherless—I myself will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in Me.” For thus says YHWH: “Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup must surely drink it; and you will you be cleared entirely? You will not be cleared, but you must surely drink it! For by Myself I have sworn,” a declaration of YHWH, “That Bozrah will become as a desolation, as a reproach, as a ruin, and as a curse, and all her cities will be as ruins forever!” I have heard a message from YHWH, and an envoy has been sent among the nations: “Assemble yourselves, and come against her, and rise up for the battle!” “For, behold, I will make you small among the nations and despised among mankind. Your terror has deceived you, the arrogance of your heart, O dwellers in the clefts of the rock,49.16 Or of Sela holding the height of the hill. Though you make high like the eagle your nest, from there I will bring you down!” A declaration of YHWH. “And Edom will become as a horror: All passing by it will be appalled, and will hiss at all her wounds. Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,” a declaration of YHWH, “Not man will dwell there, nor will reside in it a son of man. Behold, like a lion he will come up from the height of the Jordan against the enduring habitation, but I will act in an instant and make him run away from her. Who is the chosen one over her that I may assign, for who is like Me? And who would appoint Me? And who is this shepherd who can stand before My face?” Therefore hear the counsel of YHWH that He has counseled regarding Edom, and His plans that He has planned regarding those dwelling in Teman: Surely they will not drag them out, even the little ones of the flock; surely will not their own pastures be appalled over them?49.20 Or their pasture will be appalled at their fate At the sound of their fall, the earth shakes; the cry at the Sea of Reeds, its voice is heard!49.21 Or the Sea of Reeds Behold, like the eagle he will come up and fly, and he will spread his wings over Bozrah; and the heart of the mighty ones of Edom will be on that day like the heart of a woman in labor. Judgment on Damascus (Isaiah 17:1–14) Concerning Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard bad news; they melt into the sea with anxiety not able to be calmed. Damascus has grown feeble; she turns to flee, and fear has seized her; distress and sorrows have taken hold of her like a woman in labor. How is it not abandoned— the city of praise, the city of My joy? Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be cut off on that day!” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts. “And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it will consume the citadels of Ben-Hadad.” Judgment on Kedar and Hazor Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck, thus says YHWH: “Arise and go up to Kedar, and destroy the men of the east! Their tents and their flocks they will take away; their curtains, and all their vessels and their camels they will carry off for themselves; they will cry out over them, ‘Terror is on every side!’ Flee, wander far away, go deep to dwell, O dwellers of Hazor,” a declaration of YHWH. “For he has taken counsel against you⁺— Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he has planned counsel against you⁺, a purpose. Arise, go up against a nation at ease, Dwelling in safety,” a declaration of YHWH. “No gates and no bars are unto it; alone they dwell. Their camels will be for spoil, and the multitude of their cattle for plunder, and I will scatter to every wind those cutting the corner; from all its sides I will bring their calamity!” A declaration of YHWH. “Hazor will become as an abode for jackals,49.33 Or serpents or dragons a desolation even to forever; no man will dwell there, and no a son of man will sojourn in it.” Judgment on Elam That which came to be the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet regarding Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying: Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam, the foremost of their might. And I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will be no nations to which those driven out of Elam will not go there. And I will shatter Elam before the face of their enemies, and before those seeking their soul; I will bring upon them disaster, the burning of My anger,” a declaration of YHWH. “And I will send after them the sword until I have finished them. And I will set My throne in Elam, and I will destroy from there the king and the princes,” a declaration of YHWH. “And it will come to pass in the latter days that I will turn back the captivity of Elam,”49.39 Or restore the fortunes of Elam a declaration of YHWH. A Prophecy against Babylon The word that YHWH spoke concerning Babylon and concerning the land of the Chaldeans by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.50.1 That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 8, 25, 35, and 45 “Declare it among the nations, and make it heard, and lift up a signal; make it heard, and do not hide it! Say, ‘Is taken Babylon, is put to shame Bel, is dismayed Merodach; are put to shame her idols, are dismayed her images!’ For a nation from the north has come up against her, and it will set her land as a desolation, and there will be no one dwelling in her, from man even to beast—they will wander off; they will depart.” Hope for Israel and Judah “In those days and at that time,” a declaration of YHWH, “will come the sons of Israel, they and the sons of Judah together; going on and weeping they will come, and YHWH their God they will seek. They will ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it: Come and let us join ourselves to YHWH in a covenant forever that will not be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, in the mountains they have turned them away. From mountain to hill they have gone; they have forgotten their resting place. All those finding them have devoured them, and their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, upon that they have sinned against YHWH, the habitation of righteousness, and the hope of their fathers—YHWH.’ Wander off from the midst of Babylon, from the land of the Chaldeans; go forth and become like rams before the faces of the flock. For behold, I am rousing and making come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north, and they will array themselves against her. From there she will be captured. Their arrows are like those of a skilled warrior; not one will return empty. Chaldea50.10 Or Babylonia will become as plunder; all those plundering her will be satisfied,” a declaration of YHWH. Babylon’s Fall Is Certain “Though you⁺ are glad, though you⁺ rejoice, O spoilers of My heritage, though you⁺ leap like a heifer treading, and bellow like mighty ones, your⁺ mother will be greatly ashamed, she who bore you⁺ will be disgraced. Behold, the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. From the wrath of YHWH, she will not be inhabited, and she will become a desolation completely; all passing by Babylon will be horrified, and will hiss at all her wounds. Array yourselves against Babylon all around, all those bending the bow! Shoot at her, do not be sparing with the arrows, for against YHWH she has sinned! Shout against her all around! She has given her hand; her foundations have fallen; her walls are thrown down. For it is the vengeance of YHWH— take vengeance on her! As she has done, do to her! Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the handler of the sickle in the time of harvest; before the face of the oppressing sword, everyone to his people, will turn everyone to his land and will flee. Redemption for God’s People Like a flock scattered is Israel, the lions have driven away: The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one to crush his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” Therefore, thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to visit punishment against the king of Babylon and against his land, as I visited punishment against the king of Assyria. And I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and in the hill country of Ephraim and in Gilead his soul will be satisfied. In those days and at that time,” a declaration of YHWH, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought, and it is not, and the sins of Judah, and they will not be found; for I will grant forgiveness to those whom I leave as a remnant. The Destruction of Babylon Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it and against those dwelling in Pekod! Slay and devote them to destruction,”50.21 LXX Avenge, O sword, a declaration of YHWH, “and do according to all that I have commanded you.” 50.21 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to YHWH, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in verse 26. “The voice of battle is in the land, and of great destruction! How has been cut down and broken the hammer of all the earth! How Babylon has become as a desolation among the nations! I laid a snare for you, and indeed you have been captured, O Babylon, and you did not know it; you were found, and also were caught, because against YHWH you have stirred up yourself! YHWH has opened His storehouse, and has brought out the weapons of His anger, for there is a work unto the Lord YHWH of the Armies in the land of the Chaldeans! Come against her from the extremity! Open her granaries, and pile her up like heaps, and devote her to destruction! Do not let there be unto her a remnant! Slay all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their punishment. The voice of those fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of YHWH our God, the vengeance for His temple. Call together against Babylon the archers, all those bending the bow: Encamp against her all around— do not let there be one escaping! Repay to her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her! For against YHWH she has seethed, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore her young men will fall in the streets, and all her men of war will be cut off on that day!” A declaration of YHWH. “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” a declaration of the Lord YHWH of Hosts. “For your day has come, the time that I will visit punishment on you! And the arrogant one will stumble and will fall, and there will not be for him one to raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all around him!” Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “The sons of Israel are oppressed and the sons of Judah together; all who took them captive have held firmly to them; they have refused to send them away. Their Redeemer is strong— YHWH of Hosts is His name! He will fervently plead their case, so as to give rest to the land, and to bring trembling to those dwelling in Babylon. A sword is upon the Chaldeans,” a declaration of YHWH, “and against those dwelling in Babylon, and against her princes, and against her wise men! A sword is against the diviners, that they should become fools! A sword is against her mighty ones, that they should be dismayed! A sword is against their horses, and against their chariots, and against all the mixture who are in her midst, that they should become as women! A sword is against her treasures, that they should be plundered! A drought is against her waters, that they should be dried up! For it is a land of graven images, and over idols they go mad!50.38 Or and in horrors they boast Therefore the desert creatures will dwell there with the jackals, and in it the daughters of the ostrich50.39 Or the daughters of the owl will dwell; it will be a habitation no more forever, and it will not be a dwelling place unto generation and generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,” a declaration of YHWH, “no man will dwell there, and no a son of man will reside in it. Behold! A people is coming from the north, a great nation, and many kings will be roused from the ends of the earth! The bow and the spear50.42 Or javelin they hold firm; they are cruel and they do not have compassion. Their voice roars like the sea, and on horses they are riding, being arrayed like a man for the battle against you, O daughter of Babylon! The king of Babylon has heard the report of them, and his hands hang limp; distress has taken hold of him, writhing like that of a woman in labor. Behold, like a lion that comes up from the height of the Jordan against an enduring habitation, so I will act in an instant and will make them run away from her. And who is the chosen one over her I will appoint, for who is like Me? And who will arraign Me? And who is this shepherd who can stand before My face? Therefore, hear the counsel of YHWH that He has counseled against Babylon, and His plans that He has planned against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely not will they drag them out, the least of the flock? Surely not will He make their dwelling place desolate over them? From the sound of Babylon being captured, the earth is shaken, and the outcry among the nations is heard. Judgment on Babylon Thus says YHWH: “Behold, I am rousing against Babylon, and against those dwelling in Leb-Kamai,51.1 Leb-kamai is a code name for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia. a destroying spirit. And I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they will winnow her, and will empty her land; for they will be against her all around on the day of evil. Do not let bend the one bending his bow, and let him not bring himself up in his armor; do not spare toward her young men, devote to destruction51.3 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to YHWH, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. all of her army! And the slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans,51.4 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 54 and the pierced in her streets. For Israel has not been forsaken—and Judah— by their God, by YHWH of Hosts, though their land had been filled with guilt before the Holy One of Israel.” Flee from the midst of Babylon, and let each man save his soul! Do not be cut off in her iniquity; for it is a time of vengeance for YHWH, a recompense He will complete for her! Babylon was a cup of gold in the hand of YHWH, making drunk all the earth; from her wine the nations drank; upon thus the nations are deranged. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and has been shattered! Wail over her, and take balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. “We would have healed Babylon, and she was not healed; leave her, and let us go, each man to his land, for her judgment reaches to the heavens, and it is lifted up even to the clouds!” “YHWH has brought forth our righteousness; come, and let us declare in Zion the work of YHWH our God.” Make bright51.11 Or Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers!51.11 LXX and some translations of the Hebrew; or Gather the shields! YHWH has roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is against Babylon to destroy her. For it is the vengeance of YHWH, vengeance for His temple. Set up the standard against the walls of Babylon! Make strong the guard, make stand the watchmen, prepare those laying ambush! For YHWH has both planned and done that which He spoke against those dwelling in Babylon. O dweller by many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your dishonest gain! YHWH of Hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men like the locust, and they will lift up against you a shout.” Praise to the God of Jacob (Isaiah 25:1–12) The One making the earth by His power, establishing the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. At the voice he gives forth is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and vapors He makes come up from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain and He brings forth the wind from His storehouses. Every man is brutish, without knowledge; every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image, for deception is his molten image, and no breath is in them. They are a vapor, a work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they will perish. The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance; YHWH of Hosts is His name. Babylon’s Punishment “You are a war club for Me, weapons of war; I will smash apart with you the nations, and I will destroy with you kingdoms; I will shatter with you the horse and its rider, and I will smash with you the chariot and its rider; I will shatter with you man and woman, and I will smash with you old and young, and will shatter with you the young man and the maiden; I will smash with you the shepherd and his flock, and I will shatter with you the plowman and his yoke, and I will smash with you the governors and rulers! I will repay to Babylon and to all those dwelling in Chaldea51.24 That is, Babylonia; also in verse 35 all the evil that they have done in Zion before your⁺ eyes!” A declaration of YHWH. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain”— a declaration of YHWH— “The one destroying all the earth; I will stretch out My hand against you and will roll you down from the cliffs, and I will make you as a burning mountain. They will not take from you a stone for a corner or a stone for a foundation; but you will be a desolate wasteland forever!” A declaration of YHWH. “Lift up a signal on the earth, blow the shofar among the nations; prepare against her the nations, summon against her the kingdoms— Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint against her a general, cause to come up the horses like bristling locust! Prepare against her the nations— the kings of the Medes with their governors, and all their rulers, and every land of his dominion. The land will tremble and it will writhe, for every plan of YHWH against Babylon will stand, to set the land of Babylon as a desolation without one dwelling. The mighty men of Babylon have ceased from fighting; they sit in their strongholds; their might has dried up; they have become like women; they have burned her dwelling places; her bars are broken. Runner runs to meet runner, and messenger to meet messenger, to declare to the king of Babylon that his city is captured at the extremity; the fords have been seized, and the marshes they have burned with fire, and the men of war are terrified.” For thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is tread; yet a little while and will come the time of the harvest for her!” “He has devoured me, he has crushed me— Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he has made me stand as an empty vessel; he has swallowed me up like a monster, he has filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out!51.34 Or he has expelled me May the violence to me and my flesh be upon Babylon,” says the dweller of Zion, “and my blood be toward those dwelling in Chaldea”— says Jerusalem. Therefore, thus says YHWH: “Behold, I will plead your case, and I will take vengeance in vengeance for you! I will dry up her sea, and I will make dry her springs; Babylon will become as heaps, an abode for jackals,51.37 Or serpents or dragons a horror and a hissing, without one dwelling. Together like young lions they will roar; they will growl like cubs of lions. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunk, so that they may rejoice, and sleep a sleep forever, and they will not awake!” A declaration of YHWH. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. How Sheshach51.41 Sheshach is a code name for Babylon. has been captured, and the praise of all the earth is seized! How Babylon has become as a desolation among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; with the multitude of its waves she is covered. Her cities have become as a desolation, a dry land and a desert, a land—none does dwell in them, any man, and no son of man passes through it. And I will visit punishment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring out what he has swallowed—from his mouth, and no more will flow to him the nations; indeed the wall of Babylon has fallen! Go out from the midst of her, My people, and let deliver each man his soul from the burning of the anger of YHWH. 51.45 See Revelation 18:4. Do not let your⁺ heart grow faint, and do not be afraid of the report being heard in the land; for will come in one year a report, and in the year after that a report, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will visit punishment on the carved images of Babylon; and all her land will be put to shame, and all her slain will fall in her midst. And they will sing out over Babylon—the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, for from the north will come against her the destroyers!” A declaration of YHWH. “Even Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, even as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. Escapees from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember YHWH from far off, and let Jerusalem come up upon your⁺ heart.” “We are put to shame, because we have heard reproach; shame has covered our faces, for strangers have come upon the holy places of the house of YHWH.” “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” a declaration of YHWH, “when I will visit punishment on her carved images, and in all her land the wounded will groan. Though Babylon were to go up to the heavens, and though she were to gather the height of her strength, from Me would come destroyers against her!” A declaration of YHWH. “The voice of a cry is from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! For YHWH is destroying Babylon, and He has destroyed from her the great voice; and have sounded their waves like great waters, and has given forth their voice a roar. For is coming against her, against Babylon, the destroyer, her mighty men will be captured, their bows will be broken; for the God of recompense is YHWH; He will repay in full! I will make drunk her officers and her wise men, her governors, and her deputies, and her mighty men; they will sleep a sleep everlasting, and they will not wake up!” A declaration of the King— YHWH of Hosts is His name. Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon will be completely stripped down, and her high gates will be burned with fire; the people will toil in vain, and the nations will grow weary at the abundance of the fire.” Jeremiah’s Message to Seraiah The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, at his going with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the prince of quietness. Jeremiah wrote down all the evil that would come upon Babylon into one scroll; all these words that were written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “In your coming to Babylon, you should see and call out all these words. And you shall say, ‘O YHWH, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that there is no one remaining in it, from man even to beast, but it will be a desolation forever.’ And it will come to pass at your completing to call out this scroll, that you shall tie upon it a stone and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; and you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon will sink, and she will not rise from the face of the disaster that I am bringing upon her; and they shall be weary.’” Up to here are the words of Jeremiah. The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted (Psalm 74:1–23; Psalm 79:1–13; 2 Kings 24:18–20; 2 Chronicles 36:11–14) Zedekiah was a son of twenty-one years in his reigning, and eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And He did the evil in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of YHWH it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until His casting them from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, that came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—he and all his army—against Jerusalem. And they encamped against it and built against it a siege wall all around. And the city came to be under siege until the one and tenth year of King Zedekiah. In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the hunger had become strong in the city, and there was not food for the people of the land. And the city was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls that was by the garden of the king—and the Chaldeans were upon the city all around. They went by way of the Arabah,52.7 That is, the Babylonians; similarly in verses 8, 9, 14, and 17 52.7 Or the Jordan Valley and the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. And they took the king, and brought up him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he spoke against him the judgment. And the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and all the officials of Judah he killed in Riblah. And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and he bound him in bronze fetters, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in the house of oversight until the day of his death. The Temple Destroyed (2 Kings 25:8–17) In the fifth month, on the tenth of the month—it was the ninth year and tenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, who served before the King of Babylon, into Jerusalem. And He burned the house of YHWH, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem—and all the houses of the great he burned with fire. And all the surrounding walls of Jerusalem they broke down—all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guards. And of the poor of the people and the rest of the people remaining in the city, and those falling away who had fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards carried into exile. And of the poor of the land, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards left behind, as vinedressers and as farmers. And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of YHWH, and the carts, and the sea of bronze that was in the house of YHWH, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and they carried away all their bronze to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the trimmers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with which they ministered, they took away. And the basins, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the pots, and the lampstands, and the spoons, and the cups—that which was pure gold and that which was pure silver, the captain of the guards took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under it, and the carts that king Solomon had made for the house of YHWH. There was no weighing of the bronze of all these articles. As to the pillars, eighteen cubits was the height of the one pillar, and a measuring line of twelve cubits could turn around it;52.21 Each pillar was approximately 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference (8.2 meters high and 5.5 meters in circumference). its thickness was four fingers;52.21 4 fingers is approximately 2.9 inches or 7.4 centimeters. it was hollow. A capital of bronze was upon it, and the height of the one capital was five cubits,52.22 5 cubits is approximately 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters. and with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze; and like these for the second pillar, with pomegranates. The pomegranates were ninety-six on the side; all the pomegranates were a hundred on the lattice-work all around. Captives Carried to Babylon (2 Kings 25:18–21) And the captain of the guards took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold. And from the city he took a certain officer who had charge over the men of war, and seven men from those seeing the face of the king, who were found in the city; and the scribe of an official of the army, the one conscripting the people of the land; and sixty men from the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards took these, and he brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And the king of Babylon struck them, and he put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah was carried away captive from his own land. This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar exiled: In the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred thirty-two persons from Jerusalem; in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards exiled seven hundred forty-five Jews; all the souls were four thousand and six hundred. Jehoiachin Released from Prison (2 Kings 25:27–30) And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the two and tenth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, in the year of his becoming king that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up the head of Jehoiachin52.31 Or pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah, and he brought him out of the house of imprisonment. And he spoke to him kindly, and he set his seat above the seat of the kings who were with him in Babylon. And Jehoiachin changed the garments of his imprisonment, and he ate bread before his face continually all the days of his life. And his ration was a regular ration given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for the day on each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life.